This NAIDOC Week we celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of First Peoples.
Yoorrook and truth telling have given Victorians a powerful opportunity – to acknowledge the failures of the past and walk with First Peoples towards a better future built on treaty, self-determination and healing.
As a Legalise Cannabis MP, I know how much harm is caused by the continued criminalisation of cannabis. This harm falls hardest on First Peoples who are much more likely to be imprisoned for possession and much less likely to receive a caution. In 2024, despite making up 1 per cent of Victoria’s population, they made up 12 per cent of cannabis possession arrests.
While politicians like me – and even the Premier – can speak openly about having consumed cannabis, First Peoples are being criminalised for it.
Contact with the criminal justice system has lifelong consequences. Throwing people in prison for possessing small amounts of cannabis protects no one, it ruins lives and wastes taxpayer money.
This NAIDOC week, I call on the Victorian Government to decriminalise cannabis so we can end the shameful overrepresentation of First Peoples in our justice system.
