The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to its federal counterpart, the Australian Senate. Although, it is possible for legislation to be first introduced in the Council, most bills receive their first hearing in the Legislative Assembly.
Native title refers to rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rights were first recognised as a part of Australian common law with the decision of Mabo v Queensland in 1992. The doctrine was subsequently implemented and modified via statute with the Native Title Act 1993.
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. It has a fused executive drawn from members of both chambers. The parliament meets at Parliament House in the state capital Melbourne. The current Parliament was elected on 26 November 2022, sworn in on 20 December 2022 and is the 60th parliament in Victoria.
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and the parliament.
Frank Arthur Calder, was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Indigenous Australian self-determination, also known as Aboriginal Australian self-determination, is the power relating to self-governance by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. It is the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to determine their own political status and pursue their own economic, social and cultural interests. Self-determination asserts that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should direct and implement Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy formulation and provision of services. Self-determination encompasses both Aboriginal land rights and self-governance, and may also be supported by a treaty between a government and an Indigenous group in Australia.
Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming eels in Victoria for at least 40,000 years.
Indigenous or Aboriginal self-government refers to proposals to give governments representing the Indigenous peoples in Canada greater powers of government. These proposals range from giving Aboriginal governments powers similar to that of local governments in Canada to demands that Indigenous governments be recognized as sovereign, and capable of "nation-to-nation" negotiations as legal equals to the Crown, as well as many other variations.
The 2018 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 24 November 2018 to elect the 59th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The first-term incumbent Labor government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews, won a second four-year term, defeating the Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy in a landslide victory. Minor party the Greens led by Samantha Ratnam also contested the election.
The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New South Wales through its network of 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs). Its functions include the creation of an economic base for Aboriginal communities, as well as the continued passing and enhancement of Aboriginal culture, identity and heritage through the management of traditional sites and other cultural materials within NSW. It acts as an advisor to governments and others to ensure the preservation of Aboriginal land rights.
The Victorian Socialists (VS) are a political party based in the Australian state of Victoria.
The 2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 8 June 2015. Elections were held in 24 constituencies, each electing one member to the 2nd Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly. 269 candidates contested these elections, either representing one of the political parties of Gilgit-Baltistan or being an independent candidate.
The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council were up for election at the time the writs were issued, however the election in the district of Narracan was deferred due to the death of a candidate.
Muriel Pauline Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung advocate for Aboriginal child welfare in Victoria and Australia.
Indigenous treaties in Australia are proposed binding legal agreements between Australian governments and Australian First Nations. A treaty could recognise First Nations as distinct political communities, acknowledge Indigenous Sovereignty, set out mutually recognised rights and responsibilities or provide for some degree of self-government. As of 2022, no such treaties are in force, however the Commonwealth and all States except Western Australia have committed to a treaty process. The rejection of the Voice in the 2023 referendum has caused governments in Australia to reassess their commitment to establishing race based institutions in government.
Jillian Gallagher AO is a Gunditjmara from Australia who has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) since 2001. As a single mother in her twenties Gallagher was accepted into a training scheme for young Aboriginal people at the Museum of Victoria. She worked on the return of the Murray Black Collection and served as manager of the heritage branch of Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Victoria) before taking up a position at VACCHO in 1998. In 2017 Gallagher was appointed Commissioner of the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commission until the voting period ended in October 2019. Gallagher was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2009 and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll in 2015. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2013.
Jana Naretha Anne Stewart is an Australian politician and former public servant. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was appointed as a Senator for Victoria in April 2022, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Kimberley Kitching.
The 2026 Victorian state election is expected to be held on 28 November 2026 to elect the 61st Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council will be up for election, presuming there are no new electorates added in a redistribution.
The 2023 Victorian First Peoples' Assembly election, advertised as the 2023 Treaty election, was held June 2023 to elect 22 members to the First Peoples' Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. The election filled 22 of 32 seats to the body, which was charged with the responsibility of negotiating a treaty between the state's government and its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Australian state and territory Indigenous voices are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory bodies established by some of the Parliaments of the Australian states and territories. These bodies play an important role in advising governments on policies and programs that affect Indigenous Australians, and in representing Indigenous interests in public debate.
