Social justice hearings start

27 May 2024

Yoorrook’s seventh round of hearings will begin on Monday 27 May 2024 with a focus on systemic injustice experienced by First Peoples in Victoria in relation to health, education, housing and economic life. The hearings will run over four weeks until mid-June.

Witnesses will include First Peoples, Victorian Government Ministers and senior bureaucrats including:

Treasurer Tim Pallas MP
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll MP
Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Vikki Ward MP
Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt MP
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas MP
Minister for Housing Harriet Shing MP
Aunty Jill Gallagher, CEO of VACCHO
Representatives of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria

All hearings will take place at the Yoorrook hearing room located at 54 Wellington St, Collingwood. Hearings will generally run from 10am-4pm. They are open for the public and media to attend and will be livestreamed via the Yoorrook website and Facebook page.

A hearing schedule will be available on the Yoorrook website shortly.

Follow Yoorrook on social media for hearing updates

Land, sky and waters overview

^{Koondoom Yarkeen Dance Group perform at Budj Bim during the ceremonial opening of Yoorrook's land, sky and waters hearings}

Over eight months of dedicated inquiry, Yoorrook has gathered an enormous body of evidence about the injustice experienced by First Peoples in relation to land and water, and what needs to be done to address it.

Evidence has come from roundtables and yarns with over 850 Traditional Owners across the state, submissions, site visits, notices to produce, and three weeks of public hearings with First Peoples, the Premier, government ministers, academics and bureaucrats. Hearings were held in Collingwood, Portland, Robinvale and on land that was formerly part of the Coranderrk mission.

Throughout, Commissioners consistently heard evidence about wrongdoing and loss but also the story of First Peoples’ ongoing resistance, survival and strength.

Read a special recap of the land, sky and waters hearings here

Find videos, transcripts and evidence from all previous hearings on the Yoorrook website

Catch up on hearings

Recent news

Victoria Police commit to change

Victoria Police announced its commitment to 79 reforms in response to Yoorrook Justice Commission recommendations at the unveiling of the Yoorrook shield ... Read more

Victorian Government responds to Yoorrook recommendations

The Victorian Government has accepted 28 of the recommendations made in Yoorrook for Justice in full or in principle... Read more

It is time to tell the truth

Make a submission to the Yoorrook Justice Commission

Land rights champions

"What were they were doing out on the land, desecrating our sites, are we going to take this?"

Watch Gunditjmara Elder Aunty Sandra Onus explain why she and Aunty Christina Frankland took on Alcoa to prevent them from damaging cultural sites located on the proposed site of a smelter in Portland.

Onus vs Alcoa became one of the most significant land rights cases in Victoria's history.

'We went and camped there and got death threats and everything...my two children were with me...we lived out there.'

In the video below, Aunty Tina Frankland shares the impact of her protest against the Alcoa Smelter Site in Portland with Aunty Sandra Onus.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and pay our respect to them, their culture and their Elders past and present.