Victoria has tabled treaty legislation in an Australian first. Here’s what you need to know about the bill

Australia’s first formal treaty with traditional owners is one step closer to becoming a reality, with the Victorian government introducing a bill to parliament formalising the agreement.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, on Tuesday said she was proud to introduce the statewide treaty bill to parliament, which once passed, will pave the way for a formal apology, the introduction of Aboriginal truth-telling into the school curriculum and greater use of traditional names for natural parks and waterways.

She said Australia was an “outlier” globally, as the only country without a treaty with its Indigenous peoples. She said her government was not alone in spending “huge amounts of money seeking to close the gap” but failing.

“We know the current practices and systems that have been in p