ONE MINUTE’S SILENCE & A HANDFUL OF FOOTY TICKETS
FOR THE STOLEN GENERATIONS
The historic National Apology in 2008 was a wonderful, shared experience that left so many Australians feeling good, and contributed toward strengthening reconciliation and relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. The Apology was promoted as the first step toward healing for the nation, and the National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC) acknowledges this as a positive outcome of the Apology.
However, NSDC Indigenous Co-Chair Helen Moran says “that two years later many Australians, along with the Stolen Generations are standing in the question as to whether or not the Apology was little more than political point scoring by the incoming Rudd Government to push its Closing the Gap Campaign.”
With the Governments plan to mark the 2nd Anniversary of the Apology this weekend with a footy match in partnership with the National Rugby League, promoting a new Closing the Gap initiative, “Learn. Earn. Legend!” Ms Moran said “although this new initiative that encourages Indigenous children to stay in school and aspire to good jobs is to be applauded, it also should to be noted that the timing once again demonstrates the Government’s lack of sensitivity in choosing to exploit the Apology to promote its own Indigenous reform agenda.”
The NSDC strongly believe the public needs to be reminded that February the 13th is the Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations and the first Nations Peoples of Australia, not the Anniversary of the Closing the Gap Campaign.
One minute’s silence and a handful of free tickets to the NRL Dream Team Match is what is being offered to the Stolen Generations, to the NSDC these gestures seem to be as empty as the “clanging gong” the Prime Minister referred to during the Apology. Each ‘clang’ highlights the lack of real commitment towards Healing for the Stolen Generations and as they are left waiting a number of questions are ringing out to be answered:
• What progress has occurred in the promised implementation of a comprehensive response to the ‘Bringing them home’ Report?
• Why are the reparations that the ‘Bringing them home’ Report calls for, being ignored? These include guarantees against repetition, measures of restitution, measures of rehabilitation, and monetary compensation.
• What has happened to the Bringing Them Home Working Group that was to be the consultative advisory team to assist in an evaluation, audit and implementation of the outstanding ‘Bringing them home’ Report Recommendations?
• Where do things stand with the Stolen Generations Healing Foundation, while the Stolen Generations and their urgent needs for healing are left in limbo?
• What has happened to the Government’s commitment to educate health professionals on the specific needs and issues facing Stolen Generations?
The National Sorry Day Committee believes that for the Apology to make an effective difference to the Stolen Generations and the First Nations Peoples of Australia, the Government needs to be actively engaged in genuine initiatives and actions that positively change the individual lives of the Stolen Generations in ways that assist healing and uphold their rights to true justice. (media contact: Helen Moran 0413246470)
First Anniversary of Stolen Generations Reparations Tribunal Bill - September 24th 2009 Western Australian Bringing Them Home Committee Petition tabled on September 16th 2009 Senator Rachel Siewert tabled a petition calling for the Government to implement all 54 Recommendations of the 'Bringing them home' Report on September 16th
More than 200 signatures were collected on the GIANT piece of Callico in Perth on Sorry Day 2009
Healing Foundation Report Presentation to Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on 24th September 2009
Further information can be obtained by emailing:
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National Sorry Day Committee Welcomes Forgotten Australians Apology November 16th 2009 The National Sorry Day Committee joins the Alliance of Forgotten Australians and others, as they welcome the Rudd Governments announcement to implement the first recommendation of the 2004 Senate report ‘Forgotten Australians’, by issuing a formal Statement of Acknowledgement and Apology to over 500,000 Forgotten Australians.
Indigenous Co-Chair of the National Sorry Day Committee, Helen Moran today said, “This Apology will be delivered to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders children as well as the non-Indigenous Australians who have suffered trauma and abuse through their experiences of institutionalisation and foster care. Read more ... WHO IS A FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIAN: The people who identify as Forgotten Australians are now generally aged from around 40 years old. They are the survivors of the roughly 500,000 children who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children between the years 1930 and 1970. Many of these children experienced abuse and neglect whilst in care. www.forgottenaustralians.org.au. WHO IS A STOLEN A GENERATIONS : The term Stolen Generations generally refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by government, welfare or church authorities as children and placed into institutional care or with non-Indigenous foster families. The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children began as early as the mid-1800s and continued until 1970. This removal occurred as the result of official laws and policies aimed at assimilating the Indigenous population into the wider community. FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIANS http://www.forgottenaustralians.com.au
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