Stolen Generations Reparation Fund commences work and faces questions Independent Assessor John Hill has begun work on implementing the Stolen Generations Reparation Fund. The $11 million fund was announced by the South Australian Government in November 2015, following many years of debate in Parliament. The fund will make payments to Aboriginal people who were removed from their families, bypassing the need for litigation to settle compensation. Ex-Labour Government Minister John Hill attended the Stolen Generations Alliance meeting at Tauondi College in Port Adelaide on 5 February to set out the process for community members. The scheme commences on 31 March and from that date people who believe they fit the category will have 12 months to apply for compensation up to $50,000. The scheme will close two years after applications open. According to SA Native Title Services Board Deputy Chair Lavene Ngatokorua, who attended the meeting, the Independent Assessor and his staff
would hear individual’s stories and then decide on compensation. “He would go and listen to stories and figure out how much that person is worth in terms of repatriation. They’re going to employ an Aboriginal person, a woman, in a position to hear the stories of victims,” she explained.
Ms Ngatokorua also expressed concern about people being asked to tell their stories again.
The Scheme only includes compensation for people directly affected by past policies of removal.
“When I think that you have people’s stories – you’ve got your Link Ups, you’ve got other places where people have told their story. You’ve got the Mulligan report. If you’ve already told your stories, wouldn’t it be good just to get those. To tell them again is traumatising, reliving the trauma.”
“What I also heard, it’s got to be for the victims, not for their families. And that caused a lot of murmur among the people that attended, because a lot of them are second generation, not first,” Ms Ngatokorua said.
The Stolen Generations Reparation Fund was also discussed by the CEO of Anglicare, Reverend Peter Sandeman at the National Apology Breakfast at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on 12 February.
“I also have some concerns” she said. “He could never walk in our shoes and he could never understand where we come from. He can try all we like, but when we look at the social, the structure, then how can you make a call on somebody without understanding where they’ve really come from. And yet he’s going to make that call.”
He said that “this redress has broadly been received well – providing a sense of justice and recognition. It has been a long time coming.” However he pointed out that the delay in establishing such a scheme has meant that many people who were stolen have since passed.
“Sadly, many Stolen Generations passed away before this Scheme was announced – they passed waiting for this moment in time – but it was never to be achieved in their lifetime. And, tragically, heartbreakingly, some have passed since the announcement in late November 2015.” Mr Sandeman asked the government to re-consider the Fund’s timeline, which currently would mean that no payment would be received until after the closing date and after all applications have been assessed, which could take up to two years. “Forced Removal policies spanned several generations, with some Stolen Generations Survivors being in their 40s through to their 90s,” he pointed out “For Government, it would seem both just and logical that the elderly, the sick, the frail be triaged to in this process to ensure that they receive their long-awaited and deserved individual reparation – in their lifetime,” Mr Sandeman told the Apology Breakfast audience.
New group to give voice to Stolen Generations in South Australia An independent organisation dedicated to advancing the interests of the Stolen Generations and their families has been established in South Australia. Vicki-Lee Knowles from the South Australian Stolen Generations Working Party said that the new organisation is needed because for far too often the Stolen Generations of South Australia have been excluded from direct consultations about community matters that have an impact on their, and their families, lives. “Stolen Generations of South Australia have been calling for a statewide Stolen Generations body to be established to progress the collective interests of Stolen Generations and to be an accountability mechanism for the implementation of the 54 recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report,” said Ms Knowles. “We need a strong and united voice if we are to affect change for our Stolen Generations who are now old or frail,” she said.
Above: Attendess at Stolen Generations Working Party Meeting 5 February 2016. Left to right: Janette Milera, Lyn Jones, Lily Disher, Audra Landers.
The South Australian Stolen Generations Working Party met at Tauondi College in Port Adelaide on 5 February and discussed the establishment of the new South Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation (pictured).
submitted to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) for the new group to become a reality. ORIC accepted the corporations Rule Book and so the group achieved formal incorporation on 17 March 2016.
“In the spirit of truth, justice and healing provide a strong united voice of Stolen Generations, our descendants, families, and communities who were removed from, or permanently reside in, South Australia.”
as a result of removal policies across South Australia or members of Stolen Generations who now live permanently in South Australia. Descendants of members of the Stolen Generations are also eligible to become members.
The new Corporation’s Rule Book, including its Vision Statement and Objectives, has been finalised and was
According to the Rule Book, the aim of the SA Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation is to:
Membership of the new body is open to any Aboriginal person who was fostered, adopted or institutionalised
Non-voting membership is also open to Aboriginal people or organisations who support the aims of the association.
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Aboriginal Way, Autumn 2016
