Melissa The apology was just for show as for nearly 11years the state & federal levels have been notified of a stolen child who was removed from his father. Magistrate Dr Brown couldn't remember from one hour to another or one day to another DoCS members & my inlaws have lied thier guts out. When I watched the apology I just cried my eyes out for the hurt of my son & remembering the hurt of myself. Anyone who has anything to say about my comment I can produce an AVO application by a Karen Hatch the 10/6/97 where she applies for the reason she has custody of my son he was placed in the temporary custody of Danny Trindall I can show a document where I was charged with no adequate provision 15/7/97 under criminal law which was dismissed yet 16/7/97 the magistrate says there's no accusation of this.I thank you all God Bless May your Lord Shine on you all. Dave

You know, for a while I was opposed to compensation. I saw it, as I suspect many peope see it, as just another excuse for some people to grab as much cash as they can. I couldn't see why there should be compensation when there are already many government programs dedicated solely towards improving Aboriginal life - generous welfare concessions, study concessions etc etc. Anyway, that's how I viewd it. So I derided any calls for compensation for the Stolen Generation as just a money grab.

But then I thought to myself- hang on, if I was taken from my parents 30 ,40 years ago - would I want compensation? Hell yeah I thought. Of course I would! Let's face it, money doesn't make things better but it's often the only way to be repaid the debt from a 'wrong'. Think of people who sue airlines for let an aeroplane crash out of mechanic negligence, or car drivers who sue the other dirver for crashing into them. It's a fact of life that suing (and compensation) is a widely used means to righting a wrong.

Everybody who says compensation is wrong - just ask yourself - what if my child was taken from me? What if I was taken from my parents at age 5 and sent to live with strangers? Would I go away quietly? Would I just forget about it?

No we wouldn't, we would be on the phone to our lawyer in a split-second, first to take the govt to court to return our child and then to sue their pants off.

If it's ok for me and for you, why is it not ok for Aboriginals?

And if you are one of those who think the Stolen Generation issue is a bet-up and load of crock, well you're not really who I'm trying to talk to. You probably still believe those damn refugess were really throwing their kids overboard :-)

Countryboy
Dave here I was removed from my mother in 1960 after my parents separated & moved to town. My grandmother on my mothers side was buried as an elder of the Kamillaroi in 1960 & that's when they took me.I grew with Koori kids calling me cuzz & bro & older ones saying they were my aunt or uncle & me trying to work this out in my mind as I was rared as white with a step family & my father & his de-facto I went through all the garbage of life then when I marry[1990] & my son is born [1993] I tried to shelter him from this hurt of mine but no in 1997 they take my son & lock him away from me because my wife is diagnosed with trauma from childhood & DoCS in NSW gives my son to the same parents to do the same again My son loved his father & I loved him & still do but the mockery of the politicians etc just continue the abuse & his gutless grandfather & others stand over my son because they haven't the guts to do it to his father
I appreciate your time but if this was done while I was in gaol in my early adult years & these people were in there they would be dead CHILD ABUSE MUST STOP God Bless all Dave

I am actually staggard that this hasnt been mentioned yet, but forecable child removal is still a policy the child protection agency uses frequently. Given, mandatory child removal for a particular race is both racist and un-needed, such is the case of the stolen generation, but today if children are put in harms way there is still the need to remove them from the family home and child services acts to move them out of harms way. Infact if child services dosnt act and gives the parents the benefit of the doubt, it brings about criticism from the liberal loudies.Now aboriginal children were removed from their homes due to the fact that their parents were deemed at the time to not be fit to parent, and no argument the children shouldnt have been taken just because they were aboriginal, but their is ample evidence that many of the children were living in homes were alcohol and sexual abuse was still wide spread. No matter what the cause, under todays policys child abuse warrants forcible removal of children. So under todays policys if aboriginal people in the 60's were abusing children, then the government wasnt wrong.

Do we owe the aboriginal people an apology, of course, do we owe the aborigial people compensation, maybe....but the aboriginal people, the natural owners of the lands also have to take responsibility for their actions, if they dont start making decisions for themselves, decisions that they can be held accountable for, than the problem dosnt end. Was the sorry a empty gesture, only if the aboriginal people dont take the torch and run with it. It comes down to them to make the decisions that will affect their futures. We are sorry and we will probably provide the funding to get your people to start making life changing decisions, but after that, you have only yourselves to blame, and if your children get taken away from you again, it wont be a blanket policy, but a forced intiative born out of your own decisions to make an unstable home for your children

madeinaustralia, you have a point but it is important to distinguish between forced child removal on the basis of race and removal of a child (of any race) who is under threat or abuse.

Sure there would have been some Aboriginal children who would have been removed from their parents even if they were white, but we are dealing with those that were removed on the basis of their skin colour alone.

Removal of children in abusive situations is a neccesity and the correct action in a just society as ours. Removal from your parents on the basis of your skin colour is hardly just.

Two points here.

Point 1.
Where have all the bleeding hearts come from all of a sudden?

Point 2.
Countryboy, are you nieve enough to suggest that these families only started to abuse their children and place them in danger after the SG incidents occurred. I should certainly hope not!

You've got your appology from Mr Rud so lets all move on.

And to all of you who think compensation is owed, no worries how about we deduct all the welfare money that has pissed up against the wall by their own families, all the houses they have ruined and the cars they have wrecked, or is there another excuse behind this scandaless behaviour.