This was aired in SBS on the 22nd but i think a very interesting read regardless.
Apologising to the Stolen Generation has become an important issue for Indigenous people in the upcoming election.
The Prime Minister refuses to say sorry, possibly because he feels it could open his government up to litigation. In contrast, the Opposition Leader says if elected, an apology is one of the first things he'll do.
Living Black video journalist Emma Cook travels to Tasmania where the state government has invited Indigenous people to apply for compensation under its Stolen Generation Fund.
Cook speaks to two applicants with two very different stories. Debra Hocking was removed from her family because of neglect, even though her file shows no evidence of that.
She grew up in an abusive foster home and has since reunited with her family, but their relationship is strained. She says making the claim for compensation is part of the healing process.
Then there's Eddie Thomas, 71 years old and believed to be the oldest member of the stolen generation alive in Tasmania. He was taken from Cape Barren island and has a very different story to Debra.
Cook will ask Eddie and Debra if there's anything they want from the Federal government.
Is an apology still important? Would they pursue a Federal compensation claim if given the option? And should the Tasmanian model be used by other states and the Federal government, to prevent lengthy litigation?
Transcript
VO: 71-year-old Eddie Thomas counts every moment that he has with his family as precious. As the oldest living member of Tasmania's stolen generation, Eddie was taken from Cape Barren Island when he was three months old after his mother died of septicaemia. He was taken to a foster home in Launceston where he stayed until he as 21.
EDDIE THOMAS, STOLEN GENERATION MEMBER: Eventually when I was old enough to go to work and there was a chap waiting there for me. He said, "I'm your uncle Eddie." "I used to bring your grandmother to the home to meet you. "She just wanted to hug you and kiss you. "She pined away and died of a broken heart."
VO: In 1961, at just 18 months old, Debra Hocking was taken from her family in Hobart.
After a long search, she was reunited with her mother at 20, only months before her mother died. Tragically, she had spent most of her life living just a few suburbs away.
DEBRA HOCKING, STOLEN GENERATION MEMBER: In Tasmania there were no removal policies as such as there were in other areas around Australia, but the welfare department in Tasmania still knew who the Aboriginal families were. So the welfare would remove children under the grounds of neglect so my Mum thinking she was doing the right thing went to the welfare to ask for some help to which they repaid her by taking the children.
VO: Last year, the tireless campaigning of those like Eddie Thomas was rewarded.
PAUL LENNON, TASMANIAN PREMIER: The second step in the process of reconciliation as far as we were concerned was to deal with the issue of the stolen generations, and so I made a commitment during the 2006 Tasmanian election campaign to be the first jurisdiction to deal with this issue.
VO: The Tasmanian Government committed $5 million to be divided equally between those assessed as eligible along with children of deceased members. It expected to have around 40 people applying but at the close of applications, 151 people had applied for compensation.
PAUL LENNON: It just shows you the extent to which Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their parents. And I just hope we can be an example to other jurisdictions to follow our lead and to move the reconciliation process forward in a dramatic way.
VO: One year on, Tasmania remains the only State in Australia to move on compensating its stolen generation. In August this year, Bruce Trevorrow became the first member of the stolen generation to successfully sue a State government.
JULIAN BURNSIDE, LAWYER: Recovering compensation when you can prove that you've been stolen is incredibly arduous, a huge amount of work for the individual and for their legal team and very stressful psychologically for the plaintiff.
VO: The South Australian Government was ordered to pay $525,000. Bruce Trevorrow's lawyer, Julian Burnside, believes the path taken by the Tasmanian Government is a much better way. But while it was the States who removed children, he believes a national scheme administered by the Commonwealth would be the best solution.
JULIAN BURNSIDE: Apart from anything else, a national compensation fund would be a lawyer-free zone and that would good.
JOHN HOWARD, PM: Look, the idea of asking a present generation to apologise for the deeds of an early generation is offensive to millions of Australians, and I will never embrace it.
VO: An official apology to the stolen generation has become a major Indigenous issue for the upcoming federal election, with it being specifically brought up in last month's election debate. The issue has shown a clear difference in policy between the two major parties, with Labor saying it will officially apologise if elected.
KEVIN RUDD, OPPOSITION LEADER: It is about respect. It's about creating a bridge. Now, once the bridge is there, we can actually do really good stuff.
VO: But there are those that believe the debate should go further, calling for both parties to consider a national compensation fund.
JULIAN BURNSIDE: The money isn't the issue, but you need to be careful that the gesture isn't an empty gesture. To go through the motions of saying, "We will acknowledge wrongs, "we will acknowledge you were harmed, and see you later", it may leave a lot of people feeling they've just been used as a political tool.
VO: The Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs says his party will not be setting up a national fund.
MAL BROUGH, INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS MINISTER: The Tasmanian Government receives money from the Commonwealth on the basis of those people who claim Aboriginal heritage and that's fine, we don't have a problem with that. But the very same government you refer to and people hold up as doing the right thing by the stolen generation, they then chose who the Indigenous people are in Tasmania and then they actually exclude a lot of people.
VO: For now, those that have made applications in Tasmania will have to wait until January 2008 when they will know whether they have been successful.
EDDIE THOMAS: I'm handling things better now because I know eventually, say in January when we've got our compensation, that we can enjoy things as a family again.
DEBRA HOCKING: I've thought about it and I've thought. I've had a lot of unhappy memories over the years that have not been under my control, it's been under government control. Now this is the Government's way of saying "We're really, really sorry", so I'm going to accept compensation and I'm going to create a happy memory.
VO: Eddie now hopes he will live to see the day when the Prime Minister of Australia will also say sorry.
EDDIE THOMAS: I feel if John Howard did say sorry now, I don't think it would affect me. He's let it go on and on for so long.
PAUL LENNON: I think one of the reasons other jurisdictions haven't done what Tasmania's in the process of doing is that it's electorally unpopular. Well, if that's the case, why were we re-elected with a bigger vote in 2006 having promised this during the campaign? It's had a high level of support within the wider community, which may surprise some people, but it just goes to show when governments are prepared to show leadership on key social issues, the community will throw its support behind you.
Topic: The Stolen Generation (Read 1349 times)