Meet the Commissioners
Yoorrook is led by five Commissioners, of whom 4 are Aboriginal and 3 are Victorian First Peoples. The Commissioners bring a vast range of knowledge and experience about First Peoples’ knowledge, systemic disadvantage, land rights, history, law, trauma and healing.
Chair Professor Eleanor Bourke AM
Professor Bourke has held executive positions in community, state and federal government agencies. She was a Co-Chair of Reconciliation Victoria for three years, Board Member for the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council for twelve years and a Board Member of Native Title Services Victoria.
In 2005, Professor Bourke's Wergaia family was recognised in Victoria’s first positive native title determination now known as the the Wotjobaluk case. This native title included five First Peoples: Wotjobaluk Wergaia, Jardwa, Jardwajarli and Japagulk peoples.
Professor Bourke has had an extensive career in academia. She was a Professor of Aboriginal and Islander Studies and Director of Aboriginal Programs at Monash University. She was also previously an Associate Professor and Director of the Aboriginal Research Institute in the University of South Australia. She was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll for Women in 2010 and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll in 2019.
Professor Bourke chaired the Working Group to the former Victorian Treaty Advancement Commission, led by Commissioner, Jill Gallagher AO, in supporting the establishment of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. She presided over the election of the Board of the First Peoples Assembly on 1 December 11, 2019.
In 2022 Professor Bourke was awarded Member of the Order of Australia.
Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter
She is an Adjunct Professor of Global and Engagement at Federation University and a member of the National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and Justice Advisory Board.
A child and family services practitioner by trade, Sue-Anne has over twenty years’ clinical experience responding to developmental, transgenerational and community trauma. She is widely recognised for developing rights-based, transformative practice responses that empower Aboriginal people to heal from the continuing effects and processes of colonisation.
Sue-Anne has extensive experience in the governance and the leadership of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, and her expertise is regularly sought for government inquiries, parliamentary and ministerial advisory committees, academic research projects and media interviews.
Travis Lovett
Travis has spent his life advocating for truth and justice for First Peoples. He is passionate about practicing his Culture, working with Community and preserving Aboriginal languages.
Travis has held senior leadership roles in the Victorian Public Service, including as Executive Director and Acting Deputy Secretary, First Peoples State Relations, at the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He played key role in supporting Victoria to progress and implement Treaty and Truth telling.
He has also worked extensively supporting the rights of Traditional Owners across Victoria and in the protection of cultural heritage.
Prior to working for the Victorian Public Service, Travis also held senior roles with Aboriginal Victoria, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Court Services Victoria, and the Department of Justice.
Travis played a key role in the establishment and reform of the Magistrates’ and Children’s Koori Courts across the State of Victoria as the Manager of the Koori Courts.
In 2017, Travis was awarded the Young Indigenous Leader Scholarship by the Institute of Public Administration of Australia.
Distinguished Professor Maggie Walter
A previous Pro-Vice Chancellor, Aboriginal Leadership (2014-2020) Distinguished Professor Walter is the author of six books and over 100 journal articles and research chapters in the fields of Indigenous sociology and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Recent publications include: The Handbook of Indigenous Sociology (Oxford 2022, lead editor with T. Kukutai, R. Henry and A. Gonzales) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Policy (Routledge 2020, lead editor with T. Kukutai, S. Russo-Carroll and D. Rodriguez Lonebear).
Distinguished Professor Walter is also a prominent advocate of Indigenous rights. She is a founding member of the Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective (Maiam nayri Wingara), an executive member of the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA), a Palawa delegate to the Uluru Convention, a Member, Senior Advisory Group, Co-Design Process, Indigenous Voice, a Secretary of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA), a Fulbright Scholar, and is a current member of the Australian Research Council Advisory Committee.
The Hon. Anthony North KC
Commissioner North is a former judge of the Federal Court (1995-2018). For the past four-and-a-half years he has been Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
During his time as a judge, Commissioner North’s main areas of work were cases about native title, refugee law, industrial law, and criminal appeals in the Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal.
Admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1976, Commissioner North was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws from the University of London.
Dr Wayne Atkinson
Dr Wayne Atkinson is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung Elder and is a Commissioner for the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
Dr Atkinson was President of the Koori Heritage Working Group which was involved in major reforms to cultural heritage legislation in 1987. He was heavily involved in the Yorta Yorta Native Title Claim from 1994 to 2002.
Dr Atkinson is a distinguished academic, having completed a PhD on the ‘Yorta Yorta Struggle for Land Justice’ in 2000. Dr Atkinson has worked at the University of Melbourne as a Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Studies (2000-2007) and as Honorary Senior Fellow since 2013. He has taught Indigenous Studies at Deakin, Victoria, Monash, La Trobe and Australian Catholic Universities. He has also been a Visiting Indigenous Scholar at the National University of Ireland in Galway since 2006.
Professor the Honourable Kevin Bell AM QC
Professor the Honourable Kevin Bell AM QC is a non-Aboriginal Victorian and is a Commissioner for the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
Professor Bell was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria for 15 years. He played a pivotal role in the implementation and operation of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. He served as President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal between 2008 and 2010.
Prior to his judicial appointment, Professor Bell practised as a Barrister at the Victorian Bar for 20 years, eight years of which he served as Queen’s Counsel. During his time at the bar, he worked on leading native title cases, as well as leading human rights, administrative law, constitutional law, and industrial law cases.
In 2017, he received the award of Member of the Order of Australia for his ‘significant service to the law and to the judiciary, to native title and human rights, and the community.’ He is currently the Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.
Reports and Recommendations
Read the official reports and recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
Yoorrook for Transformation
Third Interim Report: A five-volume comprehensive reform report presenting evidence and findings on systemic injustices, and specific recommendations for meaningful change to transform the future, will be available in the coming month.
Truth Be Told
An official public record that documents First Peoples experiences since colonisation, preserves crucial testimonies for future generations and creates an enduring resource for education and understanding, will be available in the coming month.
Recommendations for change
Yoorrook Justice Commission’s recommendations for truth-telling, justice, and systemic reform in Victoria.
