Britain’s shadow unveils a haunting legacy: the genocide against Indigenous Australians.
At a Glance
- A landmark, Aboriginal-led inquiry in the Australian state of Victoria has found that British colonists committed genocide against the Indigenous population.
- The Yoorrook Justice Commission report found that the Indigenous population in Victoria was reduced by 75% within 20 years of colonization.
- The decimation was the result of a “coordinated plan” of massacres, disease, and policies of exclusion.
- The commission has made 100 recommendations to the state government to address the historical and ongoing harm of colonization.
A Landmark Finding of Genocide
In a historic and damning report, the Yoorrook Justice Commission—Australia’s first formal truth-telling body led by Aboriginal elders—has concluded that British colonists committed genocide against the Indigenous population of Victoria in the 19th century. The commission’s report provides a detailed account of the systemic violence, land theft, and cultural destruction that devastated the region’s First Peoples.
“Yoorrook found that the decimation of the First Peoples population in Victoria was the result of a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups,” the commission stated. “This was genocide.”
A Coordinated Plan of Destruction
The report details how the Indigenous population of Victoria plummeted from an estimated 60,000 before colonization to just 15,000 two decades later—a staggering 75% decline. This was not an accident of history, the commission argues, but the result of deliberate policies.
The report documents coordinated massacres of Aboriginal people by colonists, the introduction of diseases to which the Indigenous population had no immunity, and policies that systematically excluded First Peoples from economic life and land ownership.
Inquiry finds British committed genocide on Indigenous Australians https://t.co/25B5v4LaRn
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 2, 2025
A Path to Reconciliation
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has issued 100 recommendations to the Victorian state government to begin addressing the “deep and lasting harm” of colonization. These include sweeping reforms to the state’s child protection, education, and health systems, as well as recommendations for land restitution and potential reparations.
The state government, led by Premier Jacinta Allan, has accepted the report’s findings. “When you listen to people, you get better outcomes, and that’s what the treaty is all about,” Allan said, as reported by UPI. “Thank you to the commission for these historic reports—they shine a light on hard truths and lay the foundations for a better future for all Victorians.”
In a statement responding to the report, Aboriginal elder Jill Gallagher emphasized that the goal is not to assign blame but to achieve justice through truth. “We don’t blame anyone alive today for these atrocities,” she told the BBC, “but it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth.”
