Press Release

The vote of no confidence in Premier Rockliff comes as no surprise to Tasmania’s Aboriginal community — we’ve been fed lies and broken promises under his leadership from day one.

Rockliff promised us plenty but gave us nothing.

None of our stolen lands have been returned in over 20 years — despite the Premier having clear power under the Aboriginal Lands Act to do so. Instead, he launched a politically motivated review of the Act, forcing us to fight just to protect what little progress we’d made. We stopped the review. But we remain landless under Rockliff’s leadership.

The Premier also committed to a pathway to Treaty and truth-telling, spending over $2 million on academic-led consultations across the state. But once the work was done and the recommendations made, he dumped it — replacing it with a truth-telling commission that serves no benefit to Aboriginal people, but helps the Liberals appear to be taking action.

Despite insisting Aboriginal processes must be fully Aboriginal-led, Rockliff allowed his Minister, Roger Jaensch, to hand-pick so-called advisors to speak on our behalf. This is not self-determination — it’s the same top-down, paternalistic control we’ve resisted for generations.

Now, with Labor poised to take government, we hope — but do not expect — to see leadership on Aboriginal issues. So far, we’ve seen none. Labor has been silent while our community has been ignored. They’ve applied no pressure, taken no strong positions, and made no public commitments to land return or Treaty.

Tomorrow, representatives of the Aboriginal community and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre will meet with Dean Winter and Josh Willie. We will demand a clear commitment:

  • That Labor abandon the Liberals’ expensive, tokenistic truth-telling plan
  • That they progress the Treaty process already developed with our communities
  • And that all future efforts are genuinely Aboriginal-led and accountable

The only party that has consistently supported Aboriginal self-determination and stood up on these issues is the Greens. If they hold the balance of power, we hope they use it to push Labor — and all parties — to take real action on Aboriginal land justice, and Treaty.

Changing the Premier doesn’t change the outcome — unless Labor chooses to act with integrity, courage, and respect for Aboriginal people.

If Premier Rockliff does step down, we wish him well —and acknowledge his willingness to spend time with the Aboriginal community, camping at wukalina, and his early intentions to advance Aboriginal rights. Unfortunately, those intentions did not translate into outcomes, but we remain hopeful that one day soon, the rights of Aboriginal people will be acknowledged and acted upon.

Nala Mansell
Campaign Manager
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
198 Elizabeth Street, Nipaluna/Hobart
nala.m@tacinc.com.au
03) 62 340707
0428 662 228