Almost every Victorian Indigenous prisoner has enrolled to vote for the body that will negotiate the state’s nation-first treaty negotiations.
The second iteration of the First Peoples’ Assembly will begin negotiating a landmark statewide treaty with the Andrews government later this year, once its election results are announced in the coming days.
It is also expected to be a key point of contact for the commonwealth’s proposed voice to parliament, and could elect the members who will sit on the advisory body.
A spokesperson for the assembly told Guardian Australia that its electoral roll had more than tripled since its inaugural elections were held in 2019, with more than 7,000 First Nations Victorians aged over 16 now enrolled to vote in assembly elections.
Of those on the roll, the spokesperson said, about 10-15% enrolled to vote while in custody. This could amount to 700 to 1,050 people, including those held on remand or in youth detention centres.
The latest Victorian government prison data showed there were 695 Indigenous adult prisoners as of June 2022.
The assembly has yet to reveal how many people listed on the roll went on to vote in the most recent election, the results of which will begin to be counted on Saturday.
Amy Rust, the head of engagement and communications at the assembly, said it was vital to include the voices of incarcerated people to ensure a state-wide treaty would deliver “real change for them and future generations.
“Mob in prison have often experienced first-hand the impacts of colonisation and systemic racism. It might be through the criminal justice system or unfair policing,” she said.
“The journey to treaty needs to be done on our terms. To have faith in the process our community need to see that our thinking isn’t being constrained by colonial structures and systems.”
Prisoners serving a sentence of fewer than three years are entitled to enrol and vote in federal elections – meaning those serving longer sentences will be ineligible to vote in the upcoming Indigenous voice referendum, which could occur as early as October.
Voting for the 32-seat Victorian assembly closed on 3 June.
The assembly’s seats are comprised of 11 reserved seats for traditional owner groups formally recognised by the state and 21 members elected by Indigenous Victorians. Victoria currently has 11 registered Aboriginal parties that are formally recognised by the government and covers about 74% of the state, according to the Aboriginal heritage council.
The overhauled assembly will meet for the first time next month to elect two new co-chairs. Current co-chairs Marcus Stewart, a Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung nation, and Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, a Bangerang-Wiradjuri woman, are not re-contesting the assembly elections.
Along with the state-wide treaty, traditional owner groups will also be able to negotiate separate treaties with the state government for issues relevant to specific regions of the state.
Candidates have floated numerous ideas for the state-wide treaty, including a universal income for Indigenous elders and co-ownership of renewable energy infrastructure.
Rust, who spoke at the Lowitja Institute International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing conference on Wednesday, said a state-wide treaty would seek to push for a permanent Indigenous decision-making body – which she described as a “Black parliament”.
She said it would differ from the proposed voice to parliament because it would not just advise the government, but have the power to make decisions on policy affecting First Nations Victorians.
Victoria is the furthest progressed jurisdiction in enacting the voice, truth and treaty elements of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart manifesto.
