Contents:
Background
Calls for compensation for the Stolen Generations
Compensation and Reparations Petition
Stolen Generation legal action
Stolen Generations Working Partnership announced
BACKGROUND:
NSDC National Sorry Day Committee: http://www.nsdc.org.au/home/
Stolen Generations Alliance: http://www.sgalliance.org.au/
CALLS FOR COMPENSATION FOR THE STOLEN GENERATIONS:
– Radio
666 ABC Canberra: Afternoons with Genevieve Jacobs
Sorry Day
http://blogs.abc.net.au/canberra/2010/05/sorry-day.html
26 May 10: “Wiradjuri woman Helen Moran says the day is
incredibly important. “Sorry Day is a day to remember and
commemorate the stolen generations. We will walk across
bridges all over Australia to acknowledge that. We need
more than an apology. We need reparations and compensation.””
– Media Releases
Australian Human Rights Commission:
New partnership with Stolen Generations members welcomed
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2010/50_10.html
26 May 10: ““While I welcome the Stolen Generations’
Working Partnership and its commitment to reviewing the
recommendations of the 1997 Bringing them home Report, I
urge the Government to introduce, as a matter of urgency, a
reparations package that provides monetary compensation,
guarantees against repetition and provides restitution and
rehabilitation to the Stolen Generations,” he [Commissioner
Gooda] said. “The majority of Stolen Generations members
are now over 45,” he said. “We have no time to waste and
must move quickly to provide the help and support that is
needed before Stolen Generations members get too old or
die.””
Greens: Australian Greens call for action
to match words on National Sorry Day
http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/australian-greens-call-action-match-words-national-sorry-day
26 May 10: “The Australian Greens today join with fellow
Australians to recognise National Sorry Day, acknowledging
the past hurt caused to Aboriginal people and renewing
calls for their Stolen Generations Repatriation Bill to
receive multilateral support in the Senate. “Today we
recognise and remember a tragic part of Australia’s history
and hope future Australian Governments will continue to
move away from past mistakes,” Australian Greens Indigenous
Affairs Spokesperson Rachel Siewert said today. … “The
Greens’ Bill to deliver reparations to the Stolen
Generations remains available to be acted upon by any
Government with the political will to right the wrongs of
the past and move forward.””
– News
Australian: Stolen Generations compensation still a sore point
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/stolen-generations-compensation-still-a-sore-point/story-e6frg6nf-1225871772507
27 May 10: “Mrs [Kathy] Mills feels, however, that the 2008
apology to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd was an empty gesture. “The apology was empty because
in the same breath Rudd took all the goodness out of the
intention by saying there will be no compensation,” Mrs
Mills said. … Stolen Generations Alliance chief executive
Rosie Baird says most of the 500 members in the Northern
Territory want financial compensation.”
ABC: Sorry Day march calls for compensation
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/27/2910493.htm
27 May 10: “Indigenous and non-Indigenous people marked
National Sorry Day in Canberra yesterday by marching in
support of compensation for the Stolen Generations. …
They marched across Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to
Parliament House. But the group stopped at the halfway mark
and sat down, symbolising their belief that the Federal
Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations two years
ago did not go far enough.”
National Indigenous Radio Service:
Stolen Generations Alliance renews call for fair compensation
http://www.nirs.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3690:stolen-generations-alliance-renews-call-for-fair-compensation&catid=2:news-broadcasts&Itemid=65
26 May 10: “Peak advocacy group for Stolen Generations asks
the nation to fully implement recommendations of ‘Bringing
them home’ report … In a joint statement just released by
co-chairs Jim Morrison and Tina Louise the SGA called on
the nation to commit to full implementation of the findings
of the Royal Commission.”
Koori Mail: A step in the right direction, says SGA
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
26 May 10: “THE Stolen Generations Alliance (SGA) has
called on Australia to fully implement the recommendations
of the 1997 Bringing them Home report in order to bring
justice and healing to Stolen Generations survivors ‘before
it’s too late’. The Alliance welcomed a Federal Government
commitment to work with advocacy groups on policies,
programs and initiatives to meet the needs of Stolen
Generations survivors but said it would still pursue fair
financial compensation for them.”
Koori Mail: Greens call to ‘match words with action’
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
26 May 10: “THE Australian Greens have acknowledged
National Sorry Day and urged the Federal Government to
match its sentiments around Indigenous disadvantage with
action. Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said Indigenous
people’s basic needs around housing, access to health
services and employment opportunities were not being met,
and the continuing NT intervention and planned expansion of
punitive income management showed the Government lacked
vision.”
Koori Mail: Full reparation the answer, says Gooda
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
26 May 10: “ABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander Social
Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda has welcomed the new Stolen
Generations Working Partnership but says the Federal
Government must urgently introduce a reparations package
encompassing monetary compensation, guarantees against
repetition of past removal practices, and restitution and
rehabilitation for the Stolen Generations. Mr Gooda said
most survivors were now aged over 45 and couldn’t wait long
for help and support.”
ABC: Sorry Day a hollow gesture
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/26/2909609.htm
26 May 10: “Zita Wallace from the Central Australian Stolen
Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation says
National Sorry Day celebrations feel like a hollow gesture.
Ms Wallace told ABC Local Radio that the Prime Minister’s
apology speech in 2008 and the annual Sorry Day events are
not being backed up by progress on compensation for the
Northern Territory Stolen Generations.”
9 News: Sorry Day brings fresh calls for compo
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1058590/sorry-day-brings-fresh-calls-for-compo
26 May 10: “The Rudd government says it wants to work more
closely with indigenous people to support members of the
stolen generations. But a leading Aboriginal advocate says
if Labor is serious about righting past wrongs it needs
urgently to pay compensation to people who were forcibly
removed from their families.”
COMPENSATION AND REPARATIONS PETITION:
NSDC National Sorry Day Committee:
Compensation and Reparations Petition
http://www.nsdc.org.au/home/index.php?option=com_phocaguestbook&view=phocaguestbook&id=6&Itemid=38
“Unfortunately, the Rudd Government’s conception of
‘Closing the Gap’ does not define nor encompass the journey
for the members of the Stolen Generations – the ones who
the Apology and the Journey of Healing matter most. Their
journey is defined in the recommendations of the Bringing
Them Home report, including the recommendation for
reparations which includes ‘monetary compensation’ for
damage caused to the lives of individuals and families.”
STOLEN GENERATION LEGAL ACTION:
– A previous successful claim
Age: Stolen generation payout
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/stolen-generation-payout/2007/08/01/1185647978562.html
2 Aug 07: “An aboriginal man who was taken from his mother
as a baby has been awarded $525,000 compensation, in
Australia’s first successful stolen generation court claim.
A decade after the Bringing Them Home report elevated the
issue of “stolen” Aboriginal children to national
prominence, South Australia’s Supreme Court has become the
first jurisdiction in the country to recognise it as a
basis for legal compensation.”
– News about a current claim
SMH: WA faces stolen generation legal action
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/wa-faces-stolen-generation-legal-action-20100526-wdsr.html
26 May 10: “An Aboriginal family split up by the West
Australian government’s past policy of forcibly removing
indigenous children has launched legal action in the
Supreme Court seeking compensation. A writ was lodged in
the court in Perth on Wednesday by Lavan Legal on behalf of
nine members of the Collard family.”
West Australian: Stolen Generation landmark action launched
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp/7298292/stolen-generation-landmark-action-launched/
26 May 10: “Seven siblings who are members of WA’s Stolen
Generation have launched landmark legal action against the
State Government for their forced removal from their
parents – who are also plaintiffs in the case. The
Aboriginal Legal Service said the writ, lodged in the
Supreme Court today by Lavan Legal, could become a test
case for thousands of other West Australians who had been
forcibly removed.”
Koori Mail: Sorry Day launch for landmark writ
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
26 May 10: “A WRIT was issued in the West Australian
Supreme Court today seeking damages and compensation on
behalf of nine Indigenous people taken from their families
as children. Aboriginal Legal Service of WA CEO Dennis
Eggington says the case, which Perth firm Lavan Legal has
taken on pro bono, could become a test case for thousands
of other Western Australians who suffered the same
treatment.”
STOLEN GENERATIONS WORKING PARTERSHIP ANNOUNCED:
– Media Releases
National Sorry Day Committee Inc.:
Stolen Generations Working Partnership Announced
http://www.nsdc.org.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=291&Itemid=99
26 May 10: “The National Sorry Day Committee welcomes the
Australian Government’s invitation to participate in a
working partnership to address the needs of the Stolen
Generations. … The NSDC believes the proposed working
partnership offers us the opportunity to act together with
governments and key stakeholders to address the critical
needs of the Stolen Generations now and as they age. It
also acknowledges the ongoing effects of the removals on
current generations and communities, and the need for
action to address those needs, too. “Most importantly, and
as the Minister has said, the partnership acknowledges
that the Stolen Generations have the capacity to lead the
development of their own solutions” said Ms [Helen] Moran.”
Australian Human Rights Commission:
New partnership with Stolen Generations members welcomed
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2010/50_10.html
26 May 10: “The Stolen Generations’ Working Partnership
announced today by the Federal Government is a welcome move
that should go some way towards addressing the immediate
and practical needs of Stolen Generations members,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Commissioner Mick Gooda, said today on National Sorry Day.
Commissioner Gooda said this new commitment by Government
to engage with Stolen Generations members and to work in
partnership with them and service providers had the real
potential to improve lives.”
– News
Koori Mail: NSDC: Stolen Generations must lead solutions
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
26 May 10: “THE National Sorry Day Committee says it will
work with the Federal Government and other non-government
organisations to address the critical needs of the Stolen
Generations now and as they age. NSDC co-chair Helen Moran
said the most important part of a new cooperative approach
announced in Canberra this morning was the Government’s
acknowledgment that Stolen Generations survivors had the
capacity to lead the development of their own solutions.”
WGAR 