Proposed legislation which would establish a national truth and justice commission, which would inquire into historical and ongoing injustices against First Nations people.

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The deputy chair of Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission, Sue-Anne Hunter, said while a commonwealth truth-telling process could have a wider scope and examine federal policies, it must take into account the work already being done on a state level.

“There could be a more joint approach, we could reach more people, we could get more justice,” she told the inquiry in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency chief executive Muriel Bamblett said the Yoorrook commission had not gone far enough.

“Yoorrook, I think, asked government questions that the government didn’t answer or didn’t respond, their responses have been very weak,” she told the inquiry.

“I’m really concerned that they’re not going to change lives.

“They really did fail to address and to think about historical wrongs way back, they’re really more focused on contemporary issues and I think you can’t address contemporary issues unless you acknowledge historical wrongs.”

Ms Bamblett said a federal truth-telling process needed to examine both historical and contemporary wrongs and it was important to back up the inquiry with action, such as putting redress in place.

“It’s important to ensure that the measures outlined in the bill are backed up by government’s appetite for change, because we need change,” she said.

Yoorrook was established by an agreement between the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the Victorian government under the Inquiries Act 2014, giving it the powers of a royal commission.

Marcus Stewart, former co-chair of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria, said this meant the process was “hamstrung” in some ways.

“By giving them the powers of a royal commission we really restricted the length of time they needed to be out in communities, spending a lot of time out there and having that strong regional footprint,” he said.

“Upon reflection you could have looked at a five- to ten-year process.”

By Keira JENKINS, AAP