Paying the Rent, Sovereignty and a local treaty
Balaangala members have been discussing the possibility of a local treaty. These discussions led to the “Towards a Treaty” group making a declaration of commitment and intent, which was shared on the 26th of January 2018.
On the 26th of January 2019, the Towards a Treaty group launched a Pay The Rent scheme.
The Pay the Rent scheme acknowledges that all Australians live on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island land and that land was taken from First Nation peoples without consent, payment or treaty. The scheme is a way that non-Indigenous people can contribute “rent” directly to First Nation groups and organizations. Paying the rent is an act of restorative justice, of recompense, of taking responsibility and acknowledging benefits accrued through occupying stolen land.
Paying the rent acknowledges that non-Indigenous people have benefited and continue to benefit from policies and practices that have been part of the colonization of this nation, particularly stolen land and wages. We all benefit from the occupation and use of this land. Whether we were born here or arrived here as migrants, we cannot avoid sharing the government’s responsibility for the perpetuation of this injustice. While governments have been very slow to act, individuals can decide to ‘pay the rent’ directly to First Nation peoples until such time as the Government fulfils its obligation and begins to ‘pay the rent’ on our behalf.
A panel discussion with Mary Graham, Lila Watson, Bob Weatherall and Michael Mansell, facilitated by Tiga Bayles