Jenan Taylor
10 December 2025
An Indigenous Anglican leader hopes the Victorian government will follow its apology to First Peoples with meaningful actions that reflect the state’s new Indigenous treaty, including in the youth justice area.
Provincial Archdeacon for Reconciliation, First Peoples Recognition and Treaty the Venerable Canon Uncle Glenn Loughrey believed the apology highlighted the need for reform in areas such as bail laws.
Premier Jacinta Allan apologised on Tuesday to Victoria’s Indigenous people for the harms caused to them by the state since colonialism began.
The formal apology was part of Victoria’s historic treaty agreement which was signed into law in November.
“Decisions made in this Parliament over its history have long denied the First Peoples of this land their rights and their self-determination,” Premier Allan said.
“Today, this Parliament becomes a place of reckoning, and that reckoning has meaning for all of us who call Victoria home.”
Read more: Treaty calls for ‘truth’, ‘new beginnings’
Her sentiments and apology were echoed by Minister for Treaty and First peoples Natalie Hutchins and Greens leader Ellen Sandell.
They drew on information revealed in the Yoorrook report that pointed to at least 50 massacres committed against Indigenous people including the murders of children and women, that were erased from official records.
They said the impact of these brutalities, and colonialism and racist policies had led to the dispossession and entrenched disadvantage experienced by Indigenous people now.
Canon Loughrey said the apology was important because First Nations people still carried the weight of the harms inflicted on them.
He said what happened next had to match the rhetoric of the apology.
Read more: An invitation to renewal: What Treaty means for the Church
He said Ms Sandell’s speech recognising a need for Victoria to do better, particularly with respect to youth sentencing laws, was an excellent reminder of the need for action that reflected the Treaty.
The apology was supported by 56 Labor and Greens MPs, while 27 Liberal MPs voted against it.
Canon Loughrey said it was disappointing that a third of the parliament had opposed it.
“I hope those people rethink their position,” He said. “It was very a difficult thing for First Nations, First Peoples, to sit and listen to, and it triggering in some ways.”
Canon Loughrey said there would be celebrations on Saturday at John Cain Arena and in Thornbury, but he would be at the Treaty celebration being held at Murnong First Peoples Place in Glen Iris.
He said those who wanted to attend were simply asked to bring something to share as it was also a Christmas celebration.
For further details see facebook.com/events/613484281826251.
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