After walking across Country for nearly a month, thousands have arrived in Naarm this week, joining Travis Lovett on the final steps of the Walk for Truth - a 500-kilometre journey marking the closing chapter of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Victoria’s landmark truth-telling process.
Starting on May 25 from Portland - on Gunditjmara Country and the site of Victoria’s earliest colonial settlement - this historic walk has traced the deep scars of colonisation across the state, while also opening space for shared action.
Led by Commissioner Lovett, a proud Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man and Deputy Chair of Yoorrook, the journey has brought together Elders, jarjums, community leaders, and allies who’ve walked beside him, through rain and across dry paddocks, all the way to Parliament House.
“This walk is about honouring truth, not just of our past but the truth of where we are today,” Commissioner Lovett said.
"It’s about standing together, listening with respect, and walking forward side by side to build a fairer future.”
The final stretch began at the Shrine of Remembrance and concluded at Parliament House, where the Commission is handing over its final report - a culmination of four years of work to document the systemic injustices Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have endured since invasion.
A journey of truth, healing, and accountability
The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling inquiry of its kind in Australia.
Established in 2021 as part of Victoria’s Treaty process, its work has been led by First Peoples, for First Peoples, with a mission to tell the full story of colonisation and its ongoing impacts.
Over the past four years, Yoorrook has heard testimony from thousands of people - Stolen Generations survivors, Elders, legal experts, historians, and non-Indigenous allies - across areas such as land, law, education, health and child protection.
Its interim report released in 2023 detailed entrenched injustices and called for sweeping reforms to Victoria’s criminal justice and child welfare systems.
Yet only a handful of those 46 recommendations have received full support from the state government.
The Commission’s final report is expected to include over 100 recommendations, including calls to embed truth-telling in school curricula and initiate systemic change across state institutions.
It will directly inform ongoing Treaty negotiations between the Victorian Government and the First Peoples’ Assembly.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get it right,” Commissioner Lovett said.
“Yoorrook was built on our stories, our truths. Now, it’s time to act.”
Reconciling the Past, One Step at a Time
Among those walking beside Commissioner Lovett was Peter Sharp, great-grandson of former Prime Minister Alfred Deakin - who, in 1886, played a key role in enacting legislation that tore Aboriginal families apart.
Sharp, who has spent more than three decades engaged in reconciliation work, said the journey from Portland to Parliament was deeply personal.
“This walk has retraced my own journey from ignorance to understanding,” he said.
“My ancestor, as Chief Secretary of Victoria, pushed through the 1886 Aborigines Protection Act - the very policy that laid the groundwork for the Stolen Generations.
"I can’t undo that history, but I can walk in truth with those working for justice.”
Truth-telling must continue
While this chapter may be ending, community leaders are already calling for ongoing opportunities to speak and listen to truth as Victoria progresses on its Treaty journey.
Commissioner Lovett echoed that sentiment as the walk entered Melbourne.
“This isn’t the end of truth-telling. This is the beginning of a deeper conversation - one that will take courage, commitment, and care. But we’re ready.”
As songs, stories, and steps converge in the heart of Naarm, the Walk for Truth leaves behind more than footprints.
It leaves a message: the path to justice starts with truth - and truth starts with listening.
