Dear Banjo,

Thank You for this thread.

I will be getting a copy of the report.

I hope that huffnpuff (Michael), will at least now
feel some sense of satisfaction.
I wish that I could give him a big hug.

Dear Max,

If you were to google 'Forgotten Australians,'
some of your questions may be answered.

The following website might give you a bit of
a background:

http://www.forgottenaustralians.org.au/who/index.html

The website states:

"The people who identify as Forgotten Australians are
generally now aged from around 40 up. They are survivors
of the roughly 500,000 children who found themselves in
orphanages or homes in the 20th century between approximately
1930's and 1970."

There was widespread emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The conditions of care were horrenduous.

These problems crossed the entire spectrum of institutional
care, whether administrated by the State, religious bodies,
or other charitable groups.

One of our posters who goes under the name -'huffnpuff,'
(himself a victim), has been working towards some
form of an acknowledgement from the Government - that these
things did occur.

Anyway, do a bit of research - the graphic stories of
neglect, deprivation, sexual abuse - are guaranteed to
move you, as well as give you a better understanding of
how they differ from the Stolen Generation.

Max:"It will keep happening until we learn. Wouldn’t prevention be better than an apology"

Yes. Thank goodness for you. It is happening now, the kids are going back to profit making organisations. The Act got its support.

The Forgotten, The Stolen, and given the feedback these new ones I will call The Ignored.

Do you think the Forgotten would help or the Stolen? Could I convince them to not accept an apology until it has stopped?

Max,
I think you are missing something. The apology to the stolen generation did not cover all kids in all state institutions. If it had covered all it would have been seen as side steping the issue by the aboriginal community. They felt it correct that they receive an exclusive apology.

The claims by the 'forgotten australians' is related to the physical and sexual abuse whilst in the state institutions. This is by government employees and acording to our OLO poster 'huffnpuff' was happening as late as 1978 and maybe after that. It is claimed that this abuse has been covered up by governments and the abused want recognition of the abuse and an apology.

Below is links to the first and 2 other posts by 'huffnpuff' and all his posts are here if one cares to look. What he and others related certainly struck a cord with us other posters and many sent letters to politicians supporting the call for an apology.

You will note his letter writing is not good as, like most in the institutions, his education was poor.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=1237&page=0#22143

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=6243&page=0#90580

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2593&page=0#58360

Foxy,
I felt it only right to ensure that all on OLO be made aware of the article. It would be nice to think that some efforts by us could help get an acknowledgement from governments and they can move on.

huffnpuff has made 158 comments here alone and I bet hundreds of letters and other representations aimed at getting recognition of the abuse. With a poor education it must have been difficult and i greatly admire his determination. But lets not celebrate just yet. His last post here was only a few days ago so maybe he will see this thread and comment.

One thing I do agree with Max on is that it is vital to prevent it happening again. From what Pied Piper said it does not look real promising in that regard and am sure she is in a position to know. I have known a couple of foster mums and admire their selfless work a lot. Governments these days seem hell bent on privatising everything and giving child care, aged care and all to profit making organisations. Not good.

huffnpuff and Pied Piper may have quite a deal to talk about, as I am sure they both want to prevent it happening again.

Carrying on from where Banjo left off, I am a firm believer in the role of regular independent audits and audit committees.

Will there be more scandals concerning the care of vulnerable children in the future? The answer is a resounding 'yes' and again, the only answer lies in the sort of continuous improvement by providers that is driven by independent audit, formal accreditation, unannounced site visits and so on. The model is there if one goes to (say) the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) audits of aged care facilities in Australia. See here:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-quality-accreditation-review.htm~ageing-quality-accreditation-review-2.htm

An apology is symbolic for victims, however it is concerning that so many remain anchored/stuck in their suffering. Our hearts go out to them and it is hoped that they can get the services they need because it is never too late. Finally being able to access and take benefit from counselling and support services is 1000% better than an apology, but that doesn't imply it is 'either, or'.

Yes, a worthy and timely thread from Banjo.

However, I think that Maximillion has the wrong end of the stick here.

The apology to the 'Stolen Generations' was given because they were children who were removed from their Indigenous parents because they weren't 'full-blood', with the express purpose of assimilating them into 'white' society and breeding out their Aboriginality. Their removal reflected 'white' concerns about miscegenation and the official policy that Aborigines should be allowed to die out.

The 'Forgotten Australians', on the other hand, were non-Indigenous children who were abused in various State, church and other institutions up until the 1970s.

While the nature of the abuse was undoubtedly similarly horrific for the unfortunate victims, the reason for the current push to recognise the suffering of the 'Forgotten Australians' is because their appalling experience wasn't addressed by the 'Bringing Them Home' report, or the belated apology to the 'Stolen Generations'.