Gukwonderuk researcher appointed to historic Victorian Treaty Authority
Credit: First People’s Assembly of Victoria.
Treaty Authority members Duean White, Jidah Clark, Dr Petah Atkinson, Andrew Jackomos PSM, Thelma Austin.
Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Unit researcher and Monash alumna Dr Petah Atkinson is one of five inaugural members of the First People’s Assembly Treaty Authority, who will serve as independent overseers of the upcoming Treaty negotiations in Victoria.
The Treaty Authority comprises First Peoples Members and is the first body of its kind in Australia. It will observe and uphold Aboriginal Lore, Law and cultural authority and ensure Victoria’s Treaty process is fair for all parties involved.
An independent panel recommended Dr Atkinson’s appointment following a rigorous and competitive selection process and was officially announced this week at an event in Melbourne attended by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Co-chairs, Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg, and the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, The Hon. Natalie Hutchins. Dr Atkinson is joined by Thelma Austin, Jidah Clark, Andrew Jackomos PSM and Duean White in the inaugural body.
Dr Atkinson is a Yorta Yorta woman and health researcher with extensive experience in the Aboriginal health sector. She began at Monash as a lecturer in Aboriginal health before being encouraged and supported to undertake doctoral studies through the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Unit in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
She completed a PhD in medical education specialising in Aboriginal health curriculum, exploring the lived experience of Aboriginal patients as healthcare consumers. Dr Atkinson brings valuable expertise in cultural safety work in academia and on-the-ground experience in working with the Aboriginal community to the Treaty Authority.
Dr Atkinson said that she was honoured to have been appointed. “Treaty is important to our people, it's more than symbolic,” she said. “It will provide a legal structure that positions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians as rightful stakeholders, as determined by our lore”.
Director of the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Unit Professor Karen Adams congratulated Dr Atkinson on her appointment. “We are delighted that First Peoples in Victoria will benefit from Petah’s significant expertise and deep commitment to improving outcomes through this new role as a skilled guide and independent ‘umpire’ throughout the Treaty process,” she said. “We wish her all the best in her new role with the Treaty Authority.”
Find out more about Treaty in Victoria
Hear more from Dr Petah Atkinson and Professor Karen Adams:
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