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April 2025
Dear Friends of the Hub,
It is my great honour to be the Acting Director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub during the period of transition to a new Director. Professor Eddie Cubillo has been appointed as Director of the Mabo Centre at the University of Melbourne. The Mabo Centre is an important initiative, and we wish Eddie well as he makes another significant contribution to the well-being of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. At the Hub, we will miss his significant experience and academic guidance in seeking transformation in the legal system as well as in advancing the development of Indigenous content in the law curricula.
A brief introduction to me. My research and teaching around Indigenous Peoples’ rights spans several decades. My scholarship has considered the legal intersections between native title, Indigenous land and water rights, cultural heritage and property/environmental law.
Across this time of transition, the Hub staff have continued a busy round of teaching, engagement and research. A highlight of the last few weeks was a public lecture held as part of a Speaking Tour, ‘All Peoples are Equal: A critique on international law regarding equality and non-discrimination of Indigenous Peoples’. The event was arranged in liaison with Les Malezer, of the Butchula Gubbi Gubbi and Gamilaroi peoples, who brings a lifetime commitment to achieving human rights for Australia’s Indigenous Peoples. He has played a prominent role internationally in that regard.
The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr Albert K Barume participated in the speaking tour as the keynote speaker. We look forward to continuing that relationship with him.
I thank all staff involved in the Hub’s activities at multiple levels for their hard work and commitment - particularly in ‘pulling off’ an amazing public lecture at short notice!
Further details of this event and other Hub activities are below.
Best Wishes, and I look forward to catching up with you in coming weeks.
Professor Lee Godden
Event Wrap Up
All Peoples Are Equal: A Critique on International Law by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Hub was honoured to work with the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) to host Dr Albert K Barume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the Melbourne Law School on Wednesday 19 March for a series of community engagements and a public lecture.
The public lecture, All Peoples Are Equal: A Critique on International Law re Equality and Non-Discrimination for Indigenous Peoples, was part of a High-Level Speaking Tour in Australia featuring Dr. Albert K Barume and Les Malezer, chairperson of FAIRA, who also played an integral part in the historic adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. They were also joined by fellow speakers Aunty Jill Gallagher, the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), and Associate Professor, Hannah McGlade, who is a current member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Thank you to the speakers for their insightful addresses and to all who attended.
Mumuk Cubillo
Professor Eddie Cubillo says farewell to the Hub
The Hub is sad to announce Professor Eddie Cubillo has stepped down from his role as Director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub to take up a five-year position building a centre at another part of the University. The Hub hosted a farewell for Eddie and 100 of our closest colleagues and friends on Friday 28 February to thank him for his enormous contribution to the Hub team and our community.
Prof. Cubillo has grown the Hub from its inception into a trusted voice in advocacy, teaching with great generosity. During his tenure he has won awards for his innovative On-Country legal education, White Noise program and exceptional research contribution through this thesis on community-control and the functions of the Aboriginal Legal Services. He has done this while also speaking publicly about his experiences of discrimination, doing the important work of holding legal education institutions accountable to their justice claims. As a Larrakia, Wadjigan and Central Arrente man Dr Cubillo is the first Indigenous person to be appointed a Professor at the Melbourne Law School.
From Professor Cubillo:
"It has been an immense privilege to work alongside the incredible staff, advisory, students, and community at the Indigenous Law & Justice Hub. Together, we have built a space for advocacy, learning, and truth-telling that continues to challenge and shape the future of Indigenous justice.
I am deeply grateful for the relationships forged, the knowledge shared, and the unwavering commitment to First Nations justice that so many of you embody. While my focus will shift to my new role next month, I remain committed to staying connected and supportive of the important work that continues through the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub and our broader shared efforts. I look forward to seeing the Hub continue to grow and thrive in the years ahead.
Thank you for your support, collaboration, and the many memories we have created together. Stay strong, stay connected, and keep pushing for justice."
You will be missed Eddie, but we wish you the best with your next endeavour and look forward to working with you again in the future.
Help us find our new Director!
The Hub is now searching for a Director, see the job posting here and reach out if you have any questions at all.
Coming to Australia?
This semester we are delighted to have Taylor Broadbent joining us, a Master of Public Policy student and Citizen of the Cherokee Nation interning in the Hub, working on a project on what learnings the experience of Treaty making for Indigenous peoples in the United States can offer for Victoria.
In this article Taylor shares her experience and advice to Indigenous students abroad.
Read her insightful article here.
The New Reading Group: Treaty Thinking
This semester for the New Reading Group a dedicated community of researchers and practitioners connected to the Hub get together regularly to deepen their understanding of key literature on Indigenous-Settler treaties.
As the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the State are working through a period of intense negotiations under the Victorian Treaty Negotiations Framework, this is a particularly important moment to thinking deeply together about what treaties offer and what it means to honour a treaty, drawing on a range of literature from Australia and Abroad.
Sessions take place on Friday afternoons with a schedule available via our website.
You can sign up to the mailing list here.
New Hub Submission on Closing the Gap
The Hub recently submitted to the Select Committee on Measuring Outcomes for First Nations Communities, in a submission motivated by Professor Cubillo’s recent experiences as a member of the National Justice Policy Partnership under the Closing the Gap Agreement.
In the submission we draw attention to the duplicity of State and Territory signatories to the Closing the Gap agreement who increasingly utilise harmful ‘tough on crime’ tactics, while continuing to attend national forums where they state commitment to addressing the over-incarceration of First Nations peoples.
We called for the Commonwealth to consider the available constitutional levers to ensure accountability of State and Territory governments to their commitments to end the racial discrimination in our justice system.
The Hub will be bustling in May with important visitors coming to share their work on making and honouring treaties.
Lunchtime Treaty Seminar with Dr Harry Hobbs
Dr Harry Hobbs is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at the University of New South Wales. He holds an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award, where he is investigating Indigenous - State treaty-making in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand to identify lessons for modern treaty-making processes in Australia. He has written widely on treaty in leading Australian and international law journals, such as the Melbourne University Law Review, the Sydney Law Review, and the University of Toronto Law Journal, as well as more broadly on constitutional law, legal reform, human rights and transitional justice.
On Thursday 15 May Dr Hobbs will present a lunchtime seminar titled Treaties and Law-Making Power: Delegated or Inherent?
Save the Date: White Noise with Carwyn Jones
Carwyn Jones will be joining us for a very special White Noise Seminar on Thursday 29 May.
With a background in law, Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki) has been working on issues relating to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori legal issues generally, and Indigenous law. A Māori scholar from Aotearoa New Zealand, Carwyn has worked at the Law School at Victoria for 15 years, and before that at the Waitangi Tribunal and the Māori Land Court including the Office of Treaty Settlements. He was one of the negotiators for Te Rohe o Te Wairoa Treaty of Waitangi Claims. Recently appointed to the position of Pūkenga Matua (Head Lecturer) for the Ahunga Tikanga programme (Māori Laws and Philosophy) at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, a Māori higher education institution.
Walk for Truth
Yoorrook Justice Commission Deputy Chair Travis Lovett, Kerrupmara Gunditjmara, is walking from Portland, where colonisation began, to Victorian Parliament. Starting on Sunday 25 May on Gunditjmara Country at Portland, the Walk will travel through communities including Warrnambool, Colac, Geelong and Footscray, finishing at Parliament House on Wednesday 18 June.
This powerful journey aims to bring everyone together to walk toward truth, celebrate the strength and resistance of Aboriginal people, and be proud to have the oldest living culture in the world as ours.
Along the way there will be opportunities for people to join the Walk and attend community events. You can register to join or support the Walk and find out more at: yoorrook.org.au/walkfortruth
First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria: Call out for First Nations Artists
Have your work included in the Treaty for Victoria!
Read the First Peoples’ Assembly and the State’s joint update on the Treaty Process, 21 March 2025
Commonwealth of Australia v Yunupingu
On 12 March 2025 the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in Commonwealth of Australia v Yunupingu [2025] HCA 6.
This is an important decision in clarifying the scope of availability of compensation for extinguishment of Native Title. In this video of Constitutional Clarion Professor Twomey explains the decision.
The High Court remitted the Gumatj clan’s matter to the Federal Court to make findings on further matters, including quantification of compensation.
The case was brought by Dr Yunupingu AM in 2019. Dr Yunupingu passed away in 2023 and this case is an important part of a large legacy. You can read Professor Langton’s account of the signficance of this legacy in the Monthly.
Changes to Victoria’s Bail Laws
A few weeks ago the Hub joined over 90 other Aboriginal, human rights, community, family violence and legal organisations to speak out against changes to Victoria’s bail laws. We understand that these changes will lead to greater incarceration of Aboriginal communities in Victoria.
Maggie Munn, First Nations Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“Needlessly locking people up and cutting them off from their family, community and support does not keep the community safe. Entrenching people in the criminal legal system is dangerous and could lead to more people dying behind bars.”
Nina, Family Violence Justice Project Coordinator, Flat Out said:
“After the last kneejerk “toughening” of bail laws in 2018 thousands more women were imprisoned. 65% were locked up on remand for less than a month and released without ever being sentenced. I am one of those women. I am angry and confused, sitting in fear of what will come next.
Canadian Decision on Free, Prior and Informed Consent
If you are interested in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples and judicial interpretation of Indigenous rights to Free, Prior and Informed consent you might like to read the Canadian decision - Kebaowek First Nation v Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, 2025 FC 319.
This is one of the first cases to consider the best interpretation of Canadian legislation seeking to implement UNDRIP into Canadian law.
Voting in Prison
As the Federal election approaches, this About Time article includes analysis of experiences of people in prison seeking to vote.
