The impact of colonisation on First Nations Peoples today

More should be done about the lasting effects of colonisation on First Nations peoples in Melbourne today, historian Fiona Gatt said in a speech last week.

European settlement forced a “physical disconnect from country” for First Nations peoples and the attempted erasure of culture that traces back to colonisation is still strong, Ms Gatt said.

She thinks Aboriginal people’s lives have been cut short by “disease, violence, alcoholism and negligent policies” in Melbourne.

“The magnitude of the Indigenous experience of the urbanisation of North Melbourne can only be glimpsed if we can try to comprehend the hundreds of other Indigenous stories that are unrecorded,” she said.

Sheena Watt, an Indigenous Labor North Metropolitan Region member thinks that the relationship between Melbourne and First Nations peoples has improved greatly recently.

“Our community has spread out. We now have a thriving rich Aboriginal community in metropolitan and regional areas,” Ms Watt said.

She thinks Aboriginal-run organisations like the Aboriginal Legal Service and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service have shown the self-determination First Nations peoples have to fight old colonial ideals.

Melbourne local governments have “big pieces” of reform and Victoria is “well and truly ahead of any other state” for improving First Nations peoples and the government’s relationship, she said.

But Ms Watt agrees Australia’s colonial history is still negatively impacting Melbourne’s First Nations peoples on a social and political level.

“There’s still a lot to be done. We have a lower life expectancy, a big pay gap. There’s still a lot more to be done,” she said.

Gavin Mahoney, a resident of inner Melbourne and former Mayor of Footscray, has seen significant change in the relationship between First Nations peoples and Melbourne.

“When I was Mayor, reconciliation was never mentioned, now almost all 79 councils have a Reconciliation plan. It has improved on a societal level," Mr Mahoney said.

But Ms Gatt believes First Nations peoples have “a defiant resolve to remain connected to country”, things can improve on both a state and federal level.