« The other settler tea party: Blair McIntosh, Addicted to Empire? Tea, Sugar and Whiteness in Colonial New Zealand, MA dissertation, University of Auckland, 2024
Who gets to be indigenous (settler colonialism decides)? Dina Gilio-Whitaker, ‘Indigeneity, Nationhood, Racialization, and the U.S. Settler State: Why Political Status Matters to Native ‘Identity’ Formation’, Genealogy, 8, 3, 2024 »

Postsettler transition?Jeremie M. Bracka, ‘”It Begins with Victoria” — The Yoorrook Justice Commission & Innovating Transitional Justice for First Nations in Australia’, Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity, 12, 1, 2024, pp. 29-65

14Sep24

Abstract: Transitional justice is long overdue to address colonialism and ongoing harms to First Nations people in Australia. The full truth of Australian history is ripe for recognition; yet, until recently, national efforts to address the colonial past have been partial, disconnected and Statecentric. Moreover, the Federal government has often used the term ‘reconciliation’ politically as a rhetorical device, rather than a term of transitional justice.Nevertheless, in 2021, the State of Victoria established Australia’s first ever comprehensive truth-telling process with the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Seeking to address the harms since colonisation, the state process is unprecedented, based on its scope, First Nations ownership, powers of a Royal Commission and ability to hold the state accountable. This article examines the Commission’s contribution to structural truth-telling, First Nations empowerment, and institutional reform. It also identifies the Victorian initiative as a ground-breaking transitional justice model for settler-colonialism. Despite the challenges, incorporating truth and reconciliation through a First Nations lens might allow actual healing and practical change to occur.


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