Australia's first Indigenous Paralympian Kevin Coombs didn’t think he’d see a treaty with First Nations people in his lifetime.
Voting opened on Monday to select the first representatives of Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly, the elected body that will negotiate a treaty with the Victorian Government.
The Wotjobaluk elder, his daughter and his granddaughter were among the first to cast their ballot.
He said it had “been a long journey … built on by the people before us.”
“I think it’s going to be a seat at the table,” Mr Coombs said.
"We’ll have an opportunity to talk with government and the commission through the assembly and that’s a good thing.
“Things are going to be better for the younger people coming through like my grandchildren and my great-grandsons. It’ll be beneficial for my people.”
Uncle Kevin Coombs didn't think Treaty would happen in his lifetime. Source: SBS News
Left with paraplegia at the age of 12 after being accidentally shot in the back while out hunting with his cousins, Mr Coombs went on to become a champion wheelchair basketball player and Australia’s first Indigenous Paralympian.
More than 2000 Victorian First Nations people have enrolled to vote.
The 78-year-old described the treaty movement as another proud moment.
“I represented my country as an Australian wheelchair basketball player back in the 1960s and had to go out on a British passport, like my grandfather and his brother Bill who went to the First World War and an uncle of mine who went to the Second World War and fought on the Kokoda Trail,” Mr Coombs said.
“We didn’t get our rights until 1967 … thank God things have changed since those days.”
A historic moment for equality
Mr Coombs’ eldest daughter Janine Coombs was one of the first approached to be part of the Treaty Working Group and was at State Parliament when the bill to negotiate a Treaty was passed.
“Dad was the first one that I rang,” Ms Coombs said.
“He said, in his lifetime, he never thought that any government would want to talk to an Aboriginal community or communities around treaty.”
“We’ve jumped some really significant hurdles.”
Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner Jill Gallagher, and three generations of the Coombs family - Uncle Kevin Coombs, Janine Coombs, Kyeema Coombs Source: SBS News
A process that has taken almost four years, Ms Coombs believes the treaty is “about improving employment, economic growth, cultural understanding [and] truth telling.”
“For all of us [First Nations people] to get to where we need to get to, we all have to be under the tent because treaty isn’t coming tomorrow, treaty isn’t coming in two years, it's a living journey ... constantly evolving,” the 50-year-old said.
“It’s about my grandchildren and the next six generations after that and what will benefit them, what will empower them.”
A treaty for future generations
This sentiment was supported by Ms Coombs’ youngest daughter Kyeema Coombs.
“I believe that today is the first steps to true self-determination in the modern era,” Ms Coombs said.
“I think it will be really great to have young people represented [on the assembly] … because 30, 40, 50 years from now, we’ll be the one’s enforcing these treaties.”
Uncle Kevin Coombs' grand daughter Kyeema says "Treaty is ... an opportunity for true equity within our communities." Source: SBS News
The 24-year-old encouraged young First Nations people to enrol to vote for the First Peoples’ Assembly in Victoria.
Voting will run for a five weeks until 20 October.
“I’ve watched my mother and my grandfather and my Aunt really be at the forefront and dedicate their careers to impacting Aboriginal people and strengthening the world we live in, striving for true equity within our communities,” Ms Coombs said.
“Even if you don’t necessarily agree with some of the process or you have other ideas, bring them to the table.
“You can’t change anything if you’re just willing to scream on the sidelines, you have to be actively involved in order to ask the hard questions and put your stamp on what you want treaty to look like.”
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