Meriki Onus - Historic Treaty Elections (Gellung Warl)

In this episode of Yarning Up, the first instalment of Season Five, I sat down with Meriki Onus, who shared their passion for standing for election to the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria—an independent, democratically elected body representing First Peoples in Treaty negotiations. The Assembly forms part of Gellung Warl, a new overarching body established under the Victorian Government’s Statewide Treaty Act 2025.

Meriki opened up about their family’s long history of political activism, reflecting on what it was like growing up on Lake Tyers Mission in Bung Yarnda. They spoke about listening to conversations around Aboriginal community control, Treaty, and sovereignty—shared by their Nan, Alma Thorpe, and Edna Brown—long before they had the language to fully understand them.

They also shared their vision as a member: “putting community at the heart of Gellung Warl,” and what it means to reimagine what’s possible in resetting our relationship with government—and with ourselves—on our own terms.

The Victorian Treaty Elections will take place from 21 March to 12 April 2026, with voting available online, in person, or by post. These elections determine representatives for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria—an independent, democratically elected body that plays a key role in Treaty negotiations. Voting is not compulsory, but it’s a powerful opportunity for community to have a say in shaping the future of Treaty in Victoria.

To learn more about the Treaty Elections happening in Victoria click HERE. To learn more about Meriki Onus candidacy click HERE. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review so we can elevate First Nations people and stories and don’t forget to follow the show! Follow Caroline on Instagram @blak_wattle_coaching and learn more about working with Caroline HERE

We would like to acknowledge Aboriginal people as Australia’s First Peoples’ who have never ceded their sovereignty. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation where the podcast was recorded. We pay our deepest respects to Traditional Owners across Australia and Elders past and present. And our future young generations.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to Yarning Up, the podcast that showcases First Nations stories and conversations to help us learn and unlearn Australia's history to work towards a better future. I'm your host, Proud Barbara Woman and founder of Black Waddle Coaching and Consulting, Caroline Cal. We acknowledge the Rarundary people and elders where this podcast is taped, but we also acknowledge the lands that you are listening in from today. It always was and always will be unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. I am so glad that you are here. Whether you've been listening since the very beginning or just discovered the podcast now, I want to give you a really warm welcome to season five of Yarning Up. It honestly feels a little surreal to say that. Five seasons. I'm incredibly grateful for every single one of you who has tuned in, who has shared the episodes, sent me messages, or simply taken the time out of your busy lives while driving, walking, cooking, or going about your day. Your support truly means the world. This podcast started in COVID as a really simple idea. I was taping yarns in my spare room, and it was a space for meaningful conversations with blackfellas, conversations and stories which are seldom heard here in so-called Australia. And over the seasons, it's grown into something much bigger than I ever imagined, that I ever imagined. It's become a community of curious, thoughtful listeners who want to explore ideas, hear new perspectives, and continue learning and unlearning about Australia's history through the lens of First Nations people. In this season, we are diving even deeper into conversations that matter. We will be shooting things in person, which is so scary but so exciting. You can expect inspiring guests, honest discussions, practical insights, and things that you can take into your everyday life. We'll be exploring new themes, fresh stories, and continuing the journey that we've been on together. So if this is the first time listening, welcome. You've picked a great time for us to be yarning. If you've been here for a while, thank you for being a part of the journey. But wherever you are right now, settle in, take a breath, and let's begin season five together with an incredible conversation about the treaty elections and the process that is happening right here in Victoria, Australia, as we speak. Mariki Ones. Welcome to Yarning Up season four, our first episode of the season. It's so nice to connect with you like this. Thanks, Caroline.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Thanks for having me on the show. Um long time listener, first time caller. It's my first time on the show. So um it's nice to be here. So thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Thank you. We are meeting today uh at Closing the Gaps in the Heart of Nar. So big shout out to Laura Thompson for letting us take this really important episode of Yarning Up as Aboriginal Victorians are gearing up to cast their votes in a historic treaty process, which I'm really excited to yarn with you about today. Yes. But before we do, before we dive into the treaty process and what's happening for you, um, I'd love you to sort of talk to our listeners, tell us, you know, your name, your mob, and a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Thanks, Caroline. Um, I just wanted to acknowledge that we're on or Andrew, we're on country too, and that we're at Clothing the Gaps. Shout out to Anihora. Um, my name is Mariki and I'm from the Ganai and Gundijmara peoples. Um, I was born in Naam, and but I grew up on both my parents' countries, Ganai and Gundijmara, on Banyanda and down in Portland there. Um yeah, so that's the story. I've lived here uh in Naam for the last 20 years, where I've spent most of my adult life um working in ACOs, in policy, studying, um, but for the last 15 months I've been working as the head of policy um at the First People's Assembly, and um I led the team to help um negotiate the first treaty of its kind in this country and implement um treaty for Gallung Wow, which is what I'm gonna be running much for.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Mmm, deadly. I mean, I'm I'm a bit of a dory one. I always like to sort of understand um know a bit more about who we are. I mean, can you tell us a little bit when you were growing up in Banyana down in Lake Tyres? Like what what was it like for you growing up at that time? What was going on for you and your community and your family at the time?

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yeah, that's a good question. Thanks, Caroline. I think that's a really important part of myself too, and like like most of us, um, you know, where we get our grounding and our roots. Um, you know, whether whether it happens in your childhood or in your adulthood, but my grounding and my roots are from, you know, where I grew up on Bang Yander. Um I was lucky enough to grow up in a small technique community of um almost all just Aboriginal people out. It's formula formally a mission, um, but it's a community of about 300 people. Um, and it's you know, all of my primary school and kindergarten were almost all Aboriginal. Um, and so I had a really strong sense of identity and grounding in my culture. Um, you know, my uncle would teach me language, he he's he taught language, Uncle Wayne, um, at the primary school that we went to. Um, I remember, you know, I've got memories of my uncles taking me out on country to talk to teach us about ceremony when you kill an animal and what that means and to do ceremony and how to have you know respect for country and kinship. And so I that's my grounding. Um I think um to me that's really important for people to understand that aspect of me. And I think it's easy, you know, when you work in the policy space or the treaty space, um, you know, the members are really trying to bring that um to the forefront with um treaty, and I think that's really important that we continue to set centre that grounding in our knowledge and our um inherent rights and who we are as a people when we do this work. So, yeah, and also I think it's also worth acknowledging that I come from a long line of strong activists and community organizers who instilled a really strong sense of justice within me before I could speak, actually, my nan. Um, she started the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. Um, and yeah, and my mum and her brothers and sisters have the same determination and tenacity, which I feel really privileged to think I like to think I carry.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Thank you so so much for sharing CIS. It's really fascinating to learn more about your old ones and your nan, Alma Thorpe, who helped establish alongside others what we affectionately call Aboriginal community-controlled organizations, the heartbeat of culturally safe services for our mob, and to hear about the countries, both Gundijumara and Ghanai and Kernai countries. Um yeah, so thanks for sharing. It's nice to hear about the significance of Lake Tyres or you know each traditional name, Banyanda. Uh, such a powerful site of resistance and and and land back, and you know, it's so beautiful to hear, I guess, a bit more about how you grew up. Um a lot of us are fighting for um land back and rights, and to hear that you yeah, you grew up in in community there. Um that beautiful lake there. Yeah, so healing, I imagine.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, I really thought I was taken to Bang Yanda a lot when and you know, Portland as well. Um, you know, one thing about my dad was that he made sure it was 10 hours on the other side of the country, Victoria, not country, um, from Bang Yanda to Portland, it's a 10-hour drive. And you know, my dad made sure me and my sister have nearly every holiday in Portland, and so you know, both you know, very lucky to have that connection to both our countries. Um, but yeah, Banganda, there's something really special about um how you know the breeze from the ocean just fills up your lungs, and you know, I didn't know this and I found this out recently, but I think it just shows um how connected we are to that space. And I think I know I learn a new layer every time I go back to Vanya. I found out that um our epical ancestor, most black fellows know what that means. Um you want me to explain it? It's your native title determinant name. Yeah, so it's the ancestor that you had to identify to go through the native title claim. But so the the I the understanding is that that um and correct me if I'm wrong, is that that the elder or the person who was documented in colonization? And so it could prove that they could documented, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

That's the hardest bit, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yeah, exactly. And so, you know, and that aside, like that's hugely traumatic um thing. But yeah, our aunts, um, our ethical ancestor, you know, like he is bigger than that, probably should not just refer him to that. But the elder that met colonisation on our fet you know, from Mangyanda, like he was buried not far from where I grew up. Wow. So like I didn't know that, and then I you know, think about you know the richness of connection and having that. I'm like how you know, you don't really think about that until I don't know, you just don't think about things like that until you're just in spaces and you're like, oh actually that's just something I've just always had a no. And yeah, like I think, you know, it's not you know, he survived a massacre, um uh at William Thorpe, and so you know, our family really struggled. Um, and his son went to um war in World War I and he was shot and killed there. So, you know, like it's you know, not uh it's not you know, I don't want to try and paint a rosy pretty picture of what it was like to live on a mission that was run by white missionaries who forced us away from our language. Um, and so there's certainly, you know, the experience of colonialism, but you know, I think the story is really about we all have parts of ourselves and our identity that we get to hold on to, and that's just one part for me. I feel yeah, I think yeah, it's really lucky to have that, I think.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah, wow, wow. I um I guess firstly, I'm really sorry to hear that. It's um it's never easy to hear these stories. I think as mob we carry such deep scars of colonization, of of genocide and massacres and missions and being moved and displaced. And still today, many of us are are not free from the pain of the past. And we still see colonization in systems and institutions and our personal experiences daily, and so I really appreciate you sharing more about that struggle of your family and that pain. And I also acknowledge the strength and the resistance that you and your family carry broadly. Yeah. I mean, a a slight change of pace. I wanted to go back to something you said earlier. You mentioned before that you have been working at the First People's Assembly as the head of policy, helping to shape this important discussion we are having right now around treaty or this iteration of treaty and hearing your personal story. There's um it's any wonder that you've gone on to have these yarns. I wonder what are some of your proudest moments working at the assembly? Things that you have been, yeah, really proud to work on.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

So I think my most proudest moment is having the opportunity to um be the head of policy, and what that gave me the opportunity to do was um participate in negotiations at an operations level. So, in my role, my team, our team supported, the policy team supported the negotiators who were elected members at the table to negotiate this country's first treaty, and to but be a part of that was a real privilege for me, um, and that's something that I'm really proud of.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

And just for the the lay people at home, all the listeners who might not understand when you say negotiating, you mean the the First People's Assembly and the state quite literally sitting at a table negotiating what types of things may or may not be in a treaty process?

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yes, we were negotiating as the First People's Assembly of Victoria with the state, and and yet the state basically the Premier and her representatives.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

So your team was responsible for helping with the drafting of the legislation that was eventually passed, which is now sort of paving the way for these next week conversations. Yep, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

So those are the you know, that's and you know, I want to be be really clear, I was one part of a very big machine that made that happen. Yeah, but I am really proud of the part that I played. Um and there was times when, you know, uh especially when we're going for negotiations, I was really scared, and there was times when, you know, at night late at night I'm like on the vault. It feels like um my whole my um blood, I want to say blood or something, is like on the on the forefront of colonialism with negotiations with the Victorian government, and it was really difficult. And just thinking about my nan Edna and my nan Alma and how they must have been the first people to walk into a room um in the house space or the community space and that fear when you're doing something new or first. And I was like, I I we are the first to negotiate a treaty of its kind in this country, but we're not the first to take something different or or forge a new path in a space where we were never welcome. So I just really draw in that strength. I always think about, you know, like our mob, we're locked out of spaces, now we have our own.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Yeah, I can really appreciate how frightening it is when we're carving out a path that is so important to change the material conditions of the next generation's lives. Um, I can appreciate the weight and the responsibility. And like you say, we are forging new paths, paths that we have never gone down before. And there is excitement and there is also responsibility that comes with that. Before we talk a little bit around what led you to leave the assembly and throw your hat in the ring. Um, let's talk a little bit around what a treaty is. Um I think for a lot of us, you know, young fellas, we understand, you know, we're like treat the singing treaty in the streets, what do we want? Treaty, what do we want? Lamb back, these become like synonymous for a lot of our childhood, listening to our elders and old ones. But I think for a and I can't speak for our mob, but I'm just thinking about my family and my circle. Sometimes there's a little bit of shame around not knowing what a treaty actually is. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Like I don't think many people do. It's like fictitious, it's kind of this um, it's this abstract concept. Yeah, it's completely abstract and and it's very political and it's complex. I think when you when you break it down, it'd be it'd be helpful for people to understand, you know, firstly, what is a treaty. Maybe that's a good place to do it.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

I can I can I can have a crack at what is a treaty. So a treaty is an agreement between two parties. Um a treaty is really like two nations. Um, and so that's what a treaty is. Yeah. Um some people argue for it to two sovereign nations, or but ultimately a treaty is between two nations, an agreement between two nations, two parties. That means you have one party and that means you have another party. Sometimes I think people think that a treaty is just this party having all just your self-determination actually means you can't have a treaty without negotiating with the Victor without Victorian government. I mean, there's part ways to have a treaty with the potentially in the future, on what that means for um the federal government, but this is um a treat like an agreement between two parties.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

So it's a treaty is an agreement between two parties, and at the moment the Victorian treaty process has two forms of treaties, a statewide treaty and then a local treaty.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

What right now we only have a statewide treaty, and that's the treaty that was negotiated and given assent in December. So we only have one treaty, but there are um through the legislation that have passed previously, there's opportunity for traditional owner trees. And it's technical, so apologize. And I don't want to get too.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

I think the listeners, I think mob are looking for the detail. We're at the point where we're like, all right, we're gonna show up, we're gonna vote. Like, what am I voting for? What's on the line? What's gonna change in my life if I come and be a part of this process?

SPEAKER_00 19:25

The traditional owner treaties is where um traditional owner groups on their own right can um negotiate their own treaties with the state, and it's really up to them on how they self, what they self-determine and what they negotiate within those treaties. And so anything can be in that treaty that that traditional owner group can negotiate, um, and that can mean land back and that can mean reparations, and that's something that I will be pushing to happen if I'm elected in the assembly.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Thank you. I feel like a bit of a a doggy one, sort of um asking these questions again. But I think the important thing for the listeners to understand is that um legislation was signed last year in 2025, which has formalized the partnership between the state, the government, and First Nations people to support decision making at a statewide level and then also at a traditional owner local level. Um, and at this stage, we're sort of at the statewide treaty making process. Um, but traditional owners from across so-called Victoria, uh, when elected, will be working and shaping and um helping to advance the conversation through this um representative body called Galang Wal that will provide the framework for future local treaties and individual traditional owner for individual traditional owner groups across Victoria. So I think that is an important distinction to make that there will be um statewide treaties, things that will be good for all Victorian and those who are living off country, like those black fellas, but then there are also um laws in place now for um more treaty conversations to become, to come. With that too, sis, like um to be a bit of the devil's advocate here is that unless you've been following the journey from 2018 when it kicked off, it can be hard to see how this journey has evolved and where your place might be in it at times, in terms of like the conversation has evolved. So there are people who might just be voting for the first time now. So, for those people, you know, what are some of the things, the benefits, or the things that might change in their lives, do you think?

SPEAKER_00 22:04

First and foremost, treaty means for mob. It's it's justice actually. And justice has to be central to the agreement making. It is an acknowledgement of our sovereignty over these lands and our self-determination and it forces the government to see us as equals so then we can self-determine things that impact us. And so that's what treaty means at the core of it. It's justice. And now so what a treaty will look like is really up to the parties and how they negotiate that. So this treaty this statewide treaty is a recognition of our inherent rights and our sovereignty and this is about the inherent rights of the first peoples of this land and so it's very much linked to the traditional owners of this country but the assembly have included non-traditional owners to be able to participate in um treaty business and the assembly business. You know we're so outcomes driven because of the way colonization has conditioned us. Yeah. That it's like okay what's the outcomes? Yeah yeah and I think that's important too I'm not saying it's not yeah but I'll I think we'll see that through the accountability mechanism. That's a really important distinction. I think we'll see that through um traditional owner treaties which is something that I'm going to really push if I'm elected um where there's such colonial pressure to say put an outcome on yourself between what's your outcomes?

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Yeah and I think that because we've we're also operating in colonial logics too right that we're we're operationalizing our lives in outcomes and you know systems of deficit so we are you know trying to ask for well what's different here you know we've been down these roads of name title the voice and what's different but what I'm hearing which is really important for people to think about is this is you are voting you're using your sovereign black democracy to vote for a representative to then hold government accountable for this treaty process.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

I think it's more than that and and and for me it's more than that because when you're just focused on um holding government to account you're just going to be focused on closing the gap. Yeah. Snooze I don't want to talk about honestly yes it's important yeah that's what people want to see they're the outcomes but I want to see what our people want I want to see um us uh having our language and the vision is in 10 years to have our own university and to have you know um core you know have you seen the Moldy universities in the vision is to get what like to have that and so we have secured um the First Institute and so that's really exciting. I'm really excited to um yeah to see you know that's like I think that's like in of itself I think the assembly and having that their outcomes and I think it's really important to focus on outcomes but it's really important in order for us to decolonize and be transformative to look beyond and the limitations of today and the systems that we're forced to live within and the confines of outcomes and I want to know what I want to talk about what our people want to look like in hundreds of in a hundred years we're gonna have our Lamb bath we're gonna have our own university and so those things are you can be transformational with a long-term vision. I want to know what our people want I don't want to know I don't want when you when we force ourselves into the conversation of outcomes outcomes we just turn to what is the data that the Victorian government's saying yeah Aboriginal kids are living in poverty Aboriginal kids are getting stolen but if you talk to our mob they're telling us I want to know my language I want to have access to my country and when you talk about outcomes what is the outcome of our language what is the outcome of being on country and with your kinship and community those things don't have outcomes so I really want to be careful about pushing ourselves to outcomes because women like okay all KPIs outcomes that's what closing the gap does to us and it forces us to demonstrate outcomes and I think it's really important. I'm not suggesting that it's not you know our people have said they want housing strong housing um reparations um we need to um implement the Eurok recommendations um there's a lot in the mandate of what treaty will do if people want to know more detail that's a very detailed report um it's huge and it's very big and I think I don't want to keep putting our self-determination on the hinge of outcomes I think we need to talk about what our people want as well and that's where we need to focus as well. I don't think it should be either all I think but we lose the transformative work that treaty can bring when we're focused solely on outcomes.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Thank you so much for sharing that that is such an important reframe here which is yes whilst we need to think about changing the outcomes of our people's lives that we don't narrow the focus and look at it through the lens that governments have applied on us which have not worked through things like closing the gap and that we cast our minds much broader on our terms, on our sovereignty, on our languages, on our customs and yeah often those things can't be measured or they certainly can't be sort of um measured in the government's windows. And so yeah I think it's like you say it's not a this or a that it's definitely a butt end and um I think it's really nice to hear some of the aspirations behind treaty such as language nest and returning people home to country and um you know working really closely with mob to do that. In a really short sound bite for the people who might not have been following I guess when treaty um became a formal policy direction uh a really core part of the movement when it started in 2018 um tell us what is Galung Wal what will this representative body do?

SPEAKER_00 28:33

Galangwal will be the representative body for Aboriginal and Tosha Land people in Victoria and so um everything that's in the legislation and everything in the treaty um will be what the Assembly's role is and also the assembly will have um the community answerability framework which will be built by the assembly with mobs all across Victoria and then that will be that would make up um form part of what the assembly does um when the assembly begins at May in May 1. So that will be formed the mandate of what treaty what the Assembly does Gellangwau. Gellangwau is made up of three major components it's the assembly itself so that's the body where the elected members will sit and then there is Nyingmanyang awada that's the accountability arm that's where the Assembly can hold the government to account on issues that matter to Aboriginal and Torish Island to people in Victoria and then there is the Nyonya Yoruq telkuna and that's the ongoing truth telling work and the unfinished business to complement the Yoruk Justice Commission and the unfinished business that that you know that the work that's still going. So that will be those those are the three main parts of Galangwal and then there are other parts of Galangwal like working with traditional owners working with Aboriginal community controlled organisations and the youth voice component will be very big and the elders' voice and there are many other parts the the thing is that Galangwal doesn't exist yet and so we don't know how these parts will exist together and that will very much make up what the assembly does and what Galangwal does when it starts. And so we're really building it and so it's really important for mob to come out and vote and participate in this election because who you vote for to represent you is what Galangwal will look like. And so your representatives what they value what they stand for will be what Galangwal does when it starts in May one and so that's why I really urge everyone to get involved vote for who you want to be there building Galangwa because it's going to be really important. This is the first um this is the first term of Galangwal and it'll be the most important will you know the the the first um the role of the members when they start will be to to um pass the model rules and so that will be um in place for a very long time. So make sure you vote for who exactly who and what you want the treaty to do for your communities and what your members say that they're going to do that's what treaty will do. So it's really important that we all get involved now because treaty will do exactly what our mob want it to do and it will be as strong as our participation.

SPEAKER_01 31:33

So you've decided to throw your hat in the ring which is not an easy feat you've effectively um left your role at the First People's Assembly to run for Galenwal for the Metro seat yeah um what what led you to that decision?

SPEAKER_00 31:48

Walk us through it. Yeah thanks Caroline that's a really good question. Look I can see the possibility of Galenwal and and the importance to make sure that community is at the heart of Gallangwal. So Gallong doesn't exist yet technically um it was negotiated in the first treaty and um it starts on May 1 and right from the get-go I want to make sure community at the heart and centre of everything that Gallonwell does and that our cultural governance is really strong. And you know I think um it's important that we get that right and it's important you know and that's why I wanted to be a part of it and put my hat in the ring is to make sure that you know to contribute but also to make sure that our people's voices are heard at the table you know I and that's why I started this campaign as well I want to go around and talk to as many mob as possible um during my election to find out what they want to see in Galangwal. You know the the amazing thing about Galangwal is it doesn't exist and so we get to build it and I want to build it on our aspirations. I want it to be transformational I want it to mean something for generations to come. I want it to be secure and you know I want um my nephews and nieces first language one day to be Ganai or Gundijbara. And those possibilities are in reach you know and I'm excited um by the prospect of having our own university no just thinking about you know having our own university on our knowledge and um using our ways of knowing doing and being to just create knowledge knowledge production I think like I'm excited by things like that and building our self-determination within community and our power to make decisions on our behalf and you know I think also I'm excited by nation building so um you know nations having their own autonomy and building up what they want to do and having their own language and having their own access to education on their terms you know as a Gunai Language Mark person I would you know imagine imagine sitting at the table creating law in your language. Wow imagine going to university and just everyone speaking that language. Like that's within our reach and this is what Galen Well can bring and that's what I want to be a part of building a future like that. And you know when I think about you know I for me the way that I think try and be decolonial in my thinking is I like to think you know about what it would look like if today's um limitations didn't exist where you know my family wasn't locked up or our kids were still getting taken away you know I was on the phone to my cousin before I came here. She's homeless. If we didn't have those limitations what would it look for our life for our people for me it's um being with my family on country in ceremony together. Like then I think you know then we build the technical stuff around that you know that's the part that I think I think that I can bring to the table I don't want to start with you need to fix the colonial destruction. You know because that will keep us I think go along fail if that's where we if that's what we um lie on just like Attic you know attic was given the responsibility of um the path of destruction that colonizers created and then it was then they said we haven't closed the gate or you don't have any outcomes so we can just abolish it. Yeah. So I think you know I sorry I don't want to go back to that but yeah so for me you know I want to keep the vision on what I want for our mob and our strength and you know and and you know adequate housing but I want our mobs to be determining what that looks like. And we haven't and the beauty is that we don't have that hasn't been set so what can that look like what does it look like if we you know I don't want to this is just I don't know I'm not promising these things but you know what if we can build our own houses on country that were you know in line with um country like the wind and solar and like things like that but we haven't done that thinking yet and the beauty is the possibility is there and our people our mole and I know that our people will choose a really deadly assembly I have all the faith in the world that that next assembly is going to build towards that future and so you know it's easy to say treaty didn't stop kids getting stolen. I think that's a like a zero sum game like well it's just like saying you know politician who just got elected we haven't done anything to stop poverty. It's just such a set up dynamic to say like Gala doesn't exist yet it hasn't existed. We have to be really careful about when we're stepping into the colonizers frames about how that draws us back to their thinking and ways of doing and we've just got to stay strong to that vision and I'm really conscious that vision is really important that piece you know and I'm privileged enough to see you know the beginnings of that work of the amazing work that our members have done right now where I've seen the dream and when they get around and talk about what what is it going to look like for a mob in a hundred years. I love that work. That's the stuff I'll give out there. I think that's where the transformation can happen.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

And I think it's interesting to hear you talk about like you know not we won't stay there but you know at seek and native title I think the thing that's unique about this treaty process is for the first time it's a democratically elected process. It's not a handpicked process it's not um you know this is giving everyone all Victorian Aboriginal people who live here who are over 16 the opportunity to to shape this future by using their their sovereign voice and to participate in this process I think people might you know you're no stranger to organizing communities even outside of a formal mechanism like Gull and Wall you know you've been um very politically active your whole life um and then you know hearing your early story about um your your family it's not a coincidence that you go on to do some of the things you're doing I don't think no you had no choice um I want to ask you a question about you know for people who might know you in that political activism organizing space you know what do you want them to know about Maruki Onis the one who's gonna run uh and represent the people who vote for them like what sort of member are you going to be for them and how are you gonna represent the people that vote for you?

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Yeah thanks Carolinda I think the kind of member you know that I want to be I want to bring our voices to the table collectively it won't be my opinions it's a collective and I want to know what community want to see entreaty um it's such a critical time to say what Del can look like and what you know in this new community answerability framework and the 100 year plan that I know that the assembly are going to be working on in the future and for me I want to see and I hope this doesn't sound oversimplified but I want to see my family and country together outside of the limitations of what exist today outside of prisons outside of the child care systems um thriving not just subjugated to bare minimum or you know less than bare minimum. So you know I want to see I'll you know the kind of member that I want to be and I aspire to be is the community voice has to be the heart and like the heartbeat of going well. That's something I'm really passionate about.

SPEAKER_01 39:56

And I think you know that's sort of something you've been doing collectively organising people for a long time and bringing that collectivism into this space. How are you gonna go out and hear from those who are voting for you?

SPEAKER_00 40:09

Wow that's really this is the fun bit this is the bit I love you get to use all the skills that you've done mixed you know so um I I've been going out to every single event and I'm you know reaching out to community in so many of my different channels today I launched my campaign and announced it and um but I started to yarn for people and our mob and my mum and my nan you know like my nan said to me my nan Elma she said you know education's really important for treaty to survive because people you know in schools have to understand the truth telling aspects that's definitely because that actually exists within this trip. We don't have to try and build that home spital that's there you know so um it's talking to your family and community and figuring out what they want I don't want to bring you know a crafty message to mob I want to know why our mob want and so I'm gonna be going to as many community events as I can and you know visiting as many mob as I can and talking to as many mob. I'm having a launch on the 21st of March and hopefully by then I'll have an understanding of what mob wanna see in treaty and then I'll launch my campaign on the first day of election. So I'm really excited by that. But yeah I think you know I just I you know visited the Sunbury Corporation Aboriginal corporation last week they have enough funding for one CEO but they do such amazing work um with creative arts um and therapy and their garden is beautiful with all of these native um native uh foods and you know all these beautiful birds and um going out to speak into the communities that often get looked over even in the metro region. You know like the West I was also in the West last week and I was in Wyndhamvale you know where Mog was saying um that they were really proud of the unity that they built with Interstate Mog and Toshad Islanders and that was something that the elders said they were really proud of and you know um and they you know that there's there's disappointment in how the funding structures happen because you know they they feel like that you know they get overlooked in the West when it comes to funding um and so there's things like that that you learn and you hear from community about what they want to see. And like to me that's what treaty means. That's what self-determination means. And so you know I hope to reach as many different communities and people as I can over the building towards my election launch. So yeah if you want to reach out anyone want to yarn about what they want to see in treaty um that's to me you know that's what's going to form the basis of what kind of candidate I'll be is taking that community voice in.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

You know so it's such a strong kind of it sounds to me like there's that strong message of building solidarity collectivism and mutual accountability which is you know all the things that you fundamentally stand for as a person um and being able to take those skills and apply them in this context which is yeah beautiful to hear um you know with that in mind treaty is being described as groundbreaking and historic um uh power sharing I mean what what are some of the things you're hearing from the community that you've been yarning with both good and bad what are some of the critiques and what are some of the really positive things that you've heard so far?

SPEAKER_00 43:43

I'm not lying when I say this but I haven't been out that long. Yeah I haven't had many critiques so welcome the critiques well actually my family are very good at letting me know what they like about treaty. Um you know I I and um I think the next thing for treaty it has to be meaningful it has to be transformational not just outcome based yeah outcome based I think that can be easy for treaty to fall into yeah um for me and you know from what I hear is that uh it has to be laying back transformative um and and has to mean something in this next iteration and it's how we implement it and how we govern the next four years. People are ready you're hearing for this and they're ready to sort of yeah like you're saying this this this mechanism this vehicle they're ready so yeah well we're gonna wait another 50 years yeah this is our time we're ready yeah we have to be ready and I don't think we need to overcomplicate it just tell your treaty representatives what you want to see yeah you know like you don't have to understand all the technical parts of treaty you know that's you know that's the technical legal stuff and you can get caught up in the policy space but if you just keep to what you want at the table yeah and you keep pushing that like I feel like that's where we have to maintain our strength is to keep pushing what we want yeah not what we don't want. I mean I think there's elements to that but I want to see our mob continually tell and demand from every single member that you see in there not just me every single member demanding what you want and making sure that there's mechanisms where our people aren't just seen as an outside um component of treaty the treaty has to be it's not treaty it's galomile treaty is what we have with the government galomal is what our body is made up of our people um based on our self-determination on our terms so I want to see that body I want to see community at the heartbeat of it not sitting on the outside feeding in so that's the vision that I have um and hope to bring to the table which I'm elected to go well deadly I think this is beautiful go back to grassroots the way we've always done yarning listening taking on board feedback you know being willing to change listen lean in being guided by the mob it's really not that complicated when you you know you still go back to our old our ways of doing it and it's just letting things like this is one thing I found really hard when I worked there as well is there's really a reflection a time to um think about a way differently now and I really love you know the cultural governance of hopefully I've gone wrong because it doesn't exist yet just it's not fictitious but it exists in the future so what I know if there's anything to take from this iteration of the assembly is that cultural governance will be um at the core of what we do and um you know how um this assembly makes decisions and I think I'm really excited by that. And that means making decisions on our ways of knowing doing and being and not using colonial ways. Okay I'll have make you know an example if it's helpful. So in leadership right most structures in this country have um a great there's a theory that was created in the 1800s I learned this in unique and loved it but there's this theory and it's called the great man theory and it's this idea that a man it's yes it is a man and yes he is a white man and he's just born great. It's always a white man no matter what exactly and so this theory was written in Britain it's actual theory um in um in the 1800s in London somewhere in London and it was about the idea of a leader and it's the idea that just someone great will just lead us to greatness and they're born great they don't have to do anything they're just born with greatness yeah usually actually always rich at that time so rich white often landowner and ri um male um and actually if you look at the way that our political systems work uh sorry the Australian political systems work and the Victorian political systems they work in the same way yeah they they it's just one great leader it's any and it's it just sets systems and people up to fail.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

Anyway that aside the the the um whitefeller way of leadership to aside and then you know we had to do an analysis on indigenous ways of leadership in my uni and it was ours was collective decision making and that there was never one person um responsible for one thing and it was this shared decision making throughout the whole process and this collective consensus building and so this one over here the Whitefell they all stab each other in the back they play party politics they do each other over um there's no friends in there I'm not saying it's not tough here but you know I've seen the assembly commit to consensus building and so there's you know decisions where things could have gone to a decision they've got the numbers to get it over the line but because it was just over the line they said let's hold back because it's going to cause everyone to argue in the room let's run the process a bit more and do consensus building and I'm like that's deadly like rather trying to exactly rather trying to snake each other to the top yeah and to just make sure yeah but that's that's like neocolonialism 101 the hyper individual that and that sort of excellence that you know that you get branded with and it's a very very lonely place when you're in that sort of mindset when you're not bringing your moth along with you.

SPEAKER_00 49:26

Oh it is and they the expectation is that they just have to have it all yeah and they don't have to learn anything because they were born that way. Yeah it's like innate in them. Yeah they're just innately a leader.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

Yeah no gaming and that's what you know I I love about the assembly and I think this is a form of cultural governance is that that commitment to the collective decision making like this and that's just one example of many forms and it isn't effectively a chamber of decisions like and it has it has a powerful vehicle to government which we have not had. I mean we've been represented in government to government by our TOs and and ACOs but never a democratically elected vote.

SPEAKER_00 50:06

Not like this unique ever never like this and I like to say I don't know if this is controversial but um we like controversial. Okay good well controversial's good to be safe I think galalull is the death of the handpicked and the self-appointed your people need to elect I think we need that now I mean we're in the generation where we saw like you know native title family groups I think it is time for people to use their their their own voices um and our voices like it's amazing and I and the reality is you know I I I hope I've given justice and understanding we don't know what Galonewal is capable of yet. It doesn't exist but it's gonna be really powerful and I'm really excited by it and um I hope I'm a part of it and you know I I know this is you know going to be the most powerful thing that we've had like since colonization. I'm really excited to see the exercise of it.

SPEAKER_01 51:06

Yeah and I feel this sense of like responsibility and urgency and I'm hearing from what you're sharing is like you're putting it all on the line here. I really I really have you've given up your job and now you're going all in on this because you wholeheartedly believe in this process. So I gave up my career and my job.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

There is a lot at stake here and yeah going all in but I I feel like there is a sense of responsibility I feel like I've got you know the technical and this you know this is what I did in my uni but I feel like I've got that and I I want to bring that to the table and I you know sometimes we just get scared of talking about that but I genuinely do feel like I've got that skill and experience that I can bring to the table but also the transformational experience and knowledge and back before treaty it was Galars that had the technical skill and experience and us that had the cultural knowledge and it's like actually we have it all totally it's us now.

SPEAKER_01 52:01

We don't need white followers leaping nothing yeah yes so deadly it is definitely it definitely is deadly um so I I am not a traditional owner but I live in Victoria and I'm a black fella and I'm gonna go cast my vote I'm gonna do it either online on the post or face to face why should I vote for you?

SPEAKER_00 52:25

Carolyn you should vote for me because I will bring community voice to the table at the First People's Assembly. And Gallongwal is our first shot and I want to make sure our voices are at the heart of everything Galangwal does right from the gates and that's why you should vote for me. What makes me unique as a member is that I bring grassroots and I bring experience and you know I bring the knowledge that I learned at uni and I bring all of those different components together in a unique way to the table at the First People's Assembly. During my time as the head of policy I was able to bring my culture my community and my upbringing to the table and mix that with my experience that I learned at the First People's Assembly and learned at university and that's what makes me a unique member. If I'm elected it'll be the greatest privilege I think I'll ever have and from something that Nagara Murray said to me she said that being a member is honourable and I don't hear that much and to me I think I would feel a sense of strong honour for my people to serve that position on go.

SPEAKER_01 53:33

Wow well you heard it here first. Maruki thank you so much for being with me here in the Heart of Narma Clothing the Gaps tonight talking all things treaty and what it means for you personally to put your hat in the ring and to bring the vision and aspiration and that transformative journey of treaty making under Galangwal. Thank you so much for being here. Galangwal will start on the 1st of May 2026 and Victorian Aboriginal community members if you are aged over 16 you are encouraged to vote and use your voice in this groundbreaking process. Voting will open at 8am on the 21st of March where you can vote in person or online so head to www to learn more and enroll to vote now. There are 22 general members 10 of which will be in the metropolitan region that will be voted on and this is this is years and years and and decades in the making so get on out there your mob and be a part of it share these conversations with your family with your community encourage them to enroll encourage them to vote and be a part of this this change much love you mob until next time thank you so much for listening you mob if you are vibing this season of Yarning Up then please head over to Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcast from to show us some love, rate and review. Alternatively you can get in contact and give us some feedback by visiting www.com dot