Steven Marshall, who holds Aboriginal affairs portfolio, says his government will focus on ‘practical outcomes’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, has “paused” treaty negotiations with Aboriginal groups, saying he has “other priorities” in Indigenous affairs.

Marshall, who holds the Aboriginal affairs portfolio, told the ABC his government would focus on “practical outcomes” over “symbolic action”.

It is the first confirmation of Marshall’s plans for the treaty process since his party won government last month.

He was dismissive of the process in opposition, calling it a “cruel hoax”, but said this week that he would not make a final decision about whether to abandon it all together until he had seen a report from the SA treaty commissioner, Roger Thomas.

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“We’re going to press the pause button and we’re going to ask [Thomas] to prepare a report for the new government on lessons learned to date,” Marshall told the ABC.

“We’ve received plenty of anecdotal information that, in some instances, they’ve been more divisive than helpful, and we’ve made it clear that we have other priorities in this portfolio other than proceeding with treaty before a review.”

Thomas was appointed by the former Labor government in February 2017 to canvass support among Aboriginal people in SA for clan-based treaties.

He told Guardian Australia in December that scrapping the treaty process after the election would be “another one of those broken promises”.

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Negotiations with the Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Adnyamathanha people began late 2017 and, in February, the Narungga signed the $1.8m Buthera agreement as a precursor to a formal treaty with the state government.

Those negotiations will also be shelved until the outcome of the review, though Narungga elder Tauto Sansbury told Guardian Australia he was confident Marshall would leave the Buthera agreement in place.

The funding allocated under the agreement will go to a range of education, child protection and youth justice diversionary programs.

Sansbury said he was concerned but not surprised by Marshall’s comments.

“It is most probably not a priority for Steven Marshall and the Liberal government because Steven Marshall and the Liberal government do not fully understand what the treaty means for Aboriginal people in South Australia,” he said.

Sansbury said Marshall should listen to the priorities of community and tribal leaders, not those set by bureaucrats.

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He also criticised the former Weatherill government for not following Victoria in bedding down the legislative process to enable treaty negotiations before beginning clan-based negotiations.

The Victorian parliament will next month debate legislation to establish an Aboriginal representative body that would determine the negotiation framework for treaties.

Victoria is also facing a state election in November, which could see the pro-treaty Andrews government replaced. The Victorian treaty commissioner, Jill Gallagher, said last month that she did not believe the Liberal party, if it won government, would derail the process.

The NSW Labor party has said it will pursue a state-based treaty if it wins government in 2019.