Aboriginal-led inquiry finds genocide committed against Indigenous Australians

PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24
08:38
Issued on: 09/07/2025 - 

From the show

As Indigenous Australians mark NAIDOC Week – a time to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – the country is grappling with the findings of a landmark Aboriginal-led inquiry. The commission found that First Peoples in the state of Victoria suffered genocide and crimes against humanity from the beginning of British colonisation. "Between the 1830s and 1851, it is estimated that the Indigenous population of Victoria was reduced from 60,000 to 15,000," historian Romain Fathi told FRANCE 24 in Perspective.

The report also stresses that Aboriginal Australians continue to face systemic injustice. "Today, incarceration rates of Indigenous Australians are not the same, life expectancy is not the same; these are not problems that have gone away," Fathi added.

With 100 recommendations laid out to "redress harm", the commission demonstrates there is a long way to go in Australia's fraught road to reconciliation.

By: Carys GARLAND

Video by: Carys GARLAND