Rainier huffnpuff like myself did not have much formal education.
This inability to spell properly and a total failure to begin to understand grammar is no bar to expressing ideas and view we gain in the university of life.
Huffnpuff Carry's the weight of a dreadful life, things that should never have happened to a human being have hurt deeply.
If we care less for those people we may as well not say sorry, no, not that some of the stolen generation suffered as we say they did.
We will soon hear the shouts of some who understand little of the issue, but young children got dragged away because they had some white blood.
A country that used them as house slaves while sometimes using the parent the same way.
But if your pain does not include these forgotten Australians too, if it fails to understand British children taken away from parents too told those parents are dead!sent to this country and treated dreadfully
If our care and understanding is only for some we are worthless.
Tomorrow I feel I will be proud of my leader and most of my country.
But it is only a start you will not like it, you will claim it is evidence of my racism but some from within your community must make an effort to change too.
My party in my view in the NT and QLD in NSW and maybe more continues today to fail children.
In my view ,honestly held from the day white man came to this country we have not looked after our children .
The part the church has played is no less than shameful.
Tomorrow should be the first day of a new era we must protect our children all of them or fail as a nation.

I am 100% in support of saying sorry to the Stolen Generation, and I would extend that apology to all Indigenous Australians for the theft of their land, the massacres at the hand of squatters and soldiers and the long-term treatment of Indigenous people as second-class citizens. I am appalled at the low levels of health and education, the poverty and lack of employment and high levels of alcoholism and child mortality, neglect and abuse.

I can't wait for the official apology on Wednesday. It's a very long time overdue.

I also believe that the Forgotten Australians who were abused and neglected in and out of institutions tell a parallel story (many Indigenous children were among the Forgotten Australians too). There is no competition between the Stolen Generation and the Forgotten Australians. They should be supporting one another. While there are significant differences in their histories, they share a lot in common.

I have agitated for the Government to say sorry to the Stolen Generation, and I will continue to agitate for the Government to say sorry to the Forgotten Australians. This nation desperately needs healing and a resolve to be more generous of spirit.

Huffnpuff,
Want to let you know that my letters to the Senators on the 'Forgotten Australians" committee were sent today. Plus one to my local MP and one to another Senator who lives in town nearby.

I don't understand Rainier, as an academic I thought he would research matters before commenting on them. Not so in this instance.

Even a cursoary look at the 'Forgotten Australians' would reveal that kids of aboriginal heritage were sent to mixed ethnicity institutions. In the 'Bringing them Home' report,page 187, it shows that of the 369 witnesses that gave evidence only 25% were sent to Homes exclusively for those of aboriginal heritage, yet 27% were in Mixed Homes. 14% were sent straight to foster care or adopted, while 24% were in Homes then sent to foster care.

Both reports mention some of the same Homes and what struck me was that the evidence given was virtually the same at both inquiries. Their treatment and reasons given for their removal. Apparently it was not all bad as some told of good experiences in Homes and in foster care and adoption. But in the main, the conditions went from bad to terrible.

I don't know how Rainier missed this and just assumed the 'Forgotten Australians' was only dealing with white kids. I respect him for his academic acheivements, especially with his background, but he has a big chip on his shoulder. He has to understand that not all people without aboriginal heritage are racist. I certainly wish him well.

Kids need to be removed from situations of risk, they have to be, and where our society really failed them was not ensuring they were put in safe and proper care. Lots simply were taken from a bad family or tribal situation and put in another bad situation.

I hope that in the washup of all this there will be proper recognition of the treatment most of the kids endured and we see that it is not repeated in future. Good luck

Banjo,

I've never really claimed to be an academic, either here or in public.
So where you got that from heaven knows.

Perhaps its just a case of whitefellas never having dealt with a blackfella who knows the English language? I know this may be scary for some, but mostly edifying or a non-issue for most.

As yes, not all whitefellas are racist; some of them are my best friends :)

The overall emphasis I was trying (albeit failing) to remind people here is that while the outcomes for SG and FG's are and were the same in terms of abuse and institutionalisation, the historical fact is that Indigenous people/children were removed simply and most significantly on the basis of being "Aboriginal".

Government Policy was crafted intensely focused on Aboriginal people as one section of the population. This began as early as the early 1800's. This was well before those institutions that are referred to by FG proponents were built.

If this cannot be understood as and entirely different social, political and economic contexts to that of the FG’s then I can't be held responsible for you not having the capacity to discern the differences. I can only try to explain

Read my previous comments to Huffy on his attempts to selectively divide and then include (when it suites) SG's into his FG's equations.

Similarly but NOT exactly the same, those who went to Vietnam experienced a different war to those who went OS in WW2.

They deserve our admiration and support but we must also understand the differences in their stories.

I've stayed away from this thread until now, but I have to say that I concur completely with FrankGol's most recent comment :)

Same here CJ; and the same re.Frank Gol's post.