Chief minister says ‘nothing is on or off the table’ for new treaty agreement signed in Barunga

Historic Northern Territory treaty agreement means 'the old way is finished'

For a small Aboriginal community in Australia’s Northern Territory, Barunga has seen some big promises.

On Friday the chief minister of the territory, Michael Gunner, arrived at Barunga festival to sign an agreement to undertake a treaty process that he called “an open slate. We will start with nothing on or off the table.”

Gunner’s message was also directed at his own side of the table. “Change of this order may be the hardest within government itself. We’re the biggest risk.

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“So I’m saying to the departments, this is non-negotiable. The old way is finished.”

“At the pace communities are comfortable, the government is ceding decision-making power back to where it belongs – the communities.”

Gunner told the crowd he was proud to have signed the memorandum of understanding, calling it “the most significant Aboriginal affairs reform in the NT this generation”.

“It is right we lead this process because it is decent, because we are alive to Aboriginal culture like no other jurisdiction, but also because it is smart. Treaty – reconciliation, healing, empowerment – is fundamentally good for every Territorian.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tiwi land council chairman, Gibson Farmer Illortaminna signs the Barunga agreement Photograph: Central Land Council

The chairman of the Northern Land Council, Samuel Bush-Blanasi, said it was “momentous.”



“We’ve got a big journey ahead of us. The MOU gives us high hopes about the future, and I hope the government stays true to the spirit of the MOU.”

That note of hope was echoed by the chairman of the Central Land Council, Francis Jupurrurla Kelly.

“I hope a treaty will settle us down together and bring self-determination.

“Today we bounced the ball,” Jupurrurla Kelly said, “but we don’t want to stay the only players in the game. The next steps must be led by Aboriginal people across the Territory so that … everyone can have their say.”



Tiwi Land Council’s Gibson Farmer Illortaminni was more cautious. “We’ve got to be careful and understand each other about what we want, because we don’t want to have the same problems we’ve had in the past. The MOU is a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

The treaty agreement kicked off the annual Barunga festival.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the historic Barunga statement, presented to the then prime minister Bob Hawke, calling for Aboriginal self-management, a national system of land rights and compensation for loss of lands.



Hawke said he wanted to conclude a treaty between Aboriginal and other Australians by 1990, but it never happened.

“The petition now hangs on the wall of Parliament House like a spectre,” Gunner said in his address. “The well-meaning promises 30 years ago at this place have washed away, like the song says, writing in the sand. I am proud to say that Barunga is a place of history again.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Painting the Barunga statement (detail). Photograph: AIATSIS collection/Ronin Films

The exhibition includes gifts presented to Hazel Hawke in 1988, and other items never before seen by the public.



The Institute of Aboriginal and Islander Studies (AIATSIS) helped curate the exhibition.

The chief executive of AIATSIS, Craig Ritchie, told Guardian Australia: “The Barunga statement is an enduring declaration of the power of Aboriginal peoples’ connections to country.

“We hope this exhibition encourages all Australians to engage with this important moment in our history.”