‘Not on the agenda’: NSW minister rules out state treaty with First Nations people

Ben Franklin says a treaty with Indigenous people is ‘not on the agenda’ for the NSW Coalition in the next term of parliament. Photograph: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images for Bursty

The New South Wales Aboriginal affairs minister, Ben Franklin, has declared a treaty with First Nations people is “not on the agenda” for the Coalition, amid warnings the state was trailing the rest of the country.

Labor has committed to beginning treaty discussions if it wins the NSW election, pledging $5m for a year-long consultation with community to start after the federal voice referendum, regardless of the result.