SBS News In Depth

Why is Australia taking so long to sign a formal treaty with First Nations peoples?

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Episode notes

For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have called for a formal treaty or treaties to recognise their sovereignty. Now, formal negotiations have begun in Victoria to establish the nation's first-ever treaty between a state and its First Nations people. But other countries including Canada, New Zealand and the United States began signing treaties centuries ago, so what's taken Australia so long?