After the Yoo-rrook Truth and Justice Commission, Aboriginal people are not obliged to forgive

Who owns truth? And who gets to decide when or how truth is told?

These are fundamental questions Victorians are going to face as they begin a process of truth and justice as part of treaty negotiations with the Indigenous community.

The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission has been praised as an important step to facing up to a brutal history. But is it?

It is certainly a long overdue opportunity for Aboriginal people to tell the truth of massacre and rape and theft of land and segregation and exploitation and stolen children and broken families.

It is also a chance to tell the powerful story of pride and survival and resilience.

These will be hard truths: hard to tell and no doubt hard to hear.

These truths should be allowed to stand on their own…