Aboriginal community leader Michael Mansell welcomes Premier’s fresh approach

Premier Peter Gutwein has shown a “genuine interest” in improving relations with Tasmania’s first people, discussing the path towards a state-based treaty with Aboriginal community leaders.

ABORIGINAL community leader Michael Mansell has welcomed Premier Peter Gutwein’s “genuine interest” in improving relations with the state’s Aboriginal community.

Mr Gutwein met with community representatives for the first time as Premier yesterday.

On the agenda was a state-based treaty with Aboriginal people, land handbacks and increased indigenous representation in State Parliament.

Also discussed during the 40-minute meeting was the return of petroglyphs taken from preminghana by the Tasmanian Museum and Arts Gallery in the 1960s, and improving the state’s Aboriginal Legal Service.

Aboriginal community leader Michael Mansell sat down with Premier Peter Gutwein to discuss indigenous issues. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Mr Mansell said Mr Gutwein had not made any specific commitments, but had shown a genuine interest in doing what he could to rebuild the relationship between the government and Tasmania’s first people.

Mr Mansell said he had outlined the path towards a treaty between the State Government and Aboriginal people.

“We propose that they legislate a treaty commission, that the government agrees with Labor, the Greens and Aboriginal people for a document laying out the terms of a treaty,” he said.

“The commission would then go around and hold public consultations about the workability of those terms — how will this work in your area, what problems do you see?”

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Mr Mansell said the handing back of land within the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area, at the centre of a long-running dispute over four-wheel drive tracks, was another issue where a beneficial outcome for all could be negotiated.

“If we got ownership of it, we would rebuild the villages and we would have Aboriginal rangers there, taking people in,” he said.

“You’re going to get thousands of people going up there, because they’re getting the genuine article, and they want that history, the sense of what happened here. How did you guys survive here? What’s the story? Who were the names of the people? People will come and they get to spend money on the west coast, so it’ll build up that economy.”

Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Mr Mansell said he was surprised the return of the preminghana petroglyphs was taking so long.

“There’s something wrong with the system somewhere where white people can take it from there without a permit, but Aborigines can’t put it back without a permit,” he said.

A TMAG spokeswoman sad consultation over the handing back had been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Gutwein said the government was “strongly committed to improving social, cultural and economic outcomes for Aboriginal people in Tasmania”.

“Along with the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Roger Jaensch, I had constructive discussions today with Aboriginal community leaders about improving a range of outcomes for Aboriginal Tasmanians,” he said.