Treaty and truth-telling: the next steps for Tasmania

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this article contains references of deceased persons and content which may cause distress.

For over 60,000 years the Palawa people practised their sovereignty across this land of lutruwita. All of this changed with the arrival of the white man. The invasion radically changed us in a very short amount of time. Our culture was interrupted; our language, freedoms and country were taken from us, by force. Since British invasion the continuing intolerant, contemptuous views and actions of successive governments rendered us almost voiceless and powerless on our own Country. This meant that Palawa ownership, use and management of lutruwita lands were usurped through violence, ethnic cleansing, and exile. During and after the invasion, the Sovereign entitlements of the Palawa over this country were ignored. During the next 200 years of the occupation of lutruwita, the Palawa have been discriminated against and denied their human rights to exist as a people, to own their own heritage, to live and be treated with dignity in their country.

Transcript of a lecture delivered to the Royal Society of Tasmania, 4 December 2022