Hopes Australia's first treaty with Aboriginal people will help close the gap

The country's first treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples provides a historic opportunity to help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, First Nations leaders say.

Legislation passed in Victoria's Parliament on Tuesday establishes the treaty and sets up the First Peoples' Assembly as a permanent authority, now named Gellung Warl.

Victoria's historic treaty Photo shows Two people wearing possum skins pass a traditional object between each other.

Victoria's historic treaty is promising to "reckon with the past" and empower the state's First Peoples.

For Thomas Mayo, Indigenous author and former Yes campaigner, the legislation marks an emotional and deeply important moment for Australia and First Nations peoples.

"I've got deep feelings of