Friends of Treaty Pledge

Fitzroy Legal Service (FLS) acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People and other Peoples of the Kulin Nation as the custodians and rightful owners of the land on which we work. We pay our deep respects to their Elders, past and present, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. 

We recognise the enduring impacts of colonisation and racism on First Nations people. Every day, through our work, we see how these injustices are perpetuated through the legal system, including through the over-policing, criminalisation, and imprisonment of First Nations communities. 

We are honoured by the generosity of Gellung Warl and First Nations leaders in extending an invitation to non-Indigenous people to join them on the journey towards a more just future underpinned by Treaty. While the Treaty legislation has passed the Victorian Parliament, the work of Treaty, truth-telling, and self-determination continues. 

As a legal service committed to justice and equality, FLS recognises our responsibility to contribute to this work.

We pledge to:

• Advocate for the full implementation of Treaty as a critical step towards addressing the ongoing harms of colonisation and advancing self-determination and justice for First Nations peoples. 
• Embed respect for First Nations voices, leadership, and self-determination in our organisational decision-making and advocacy. 
• Respect and amplify First Nations knowledge, culture, and lived experience, recognising the expertise and leadership of First Nations peoples in matters affecting their communities. 
• Listen, learn, and build accountable partnerships with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, First Nations organisations, and communities. 
• Continue to challenge racism and the criminalisation of First Nations peoples through our legal practice and advocacy work by supporting First Nations-led solutions to over-policing and incarceration.  

First Nations people have always had the knowledge and solutions needed to strengthen their communities. Our role is not to speak for them, but to listen, learn, and use our position and resources to support First Nations-led change. 

This pledge is one small part of FLS's ongoing commitment to justice, decolonisation and self-determination. We commit to continuing this work alongside First Nations people and communities as they chart the path towards Treaty, truth-telling and a more just future.  

Information about Friends of Treaty is available here on the Gellung Warl website.