Banjo,

I didn't go along with the apology to indigines, so I will not go along with an apology to the UK orphans.

I agree, however, that they seem to have been treated very badly, and it must have been very frighening for them. I have seen some interviewed on TV and I admire them for the way they have managed to rise above their past (while appreciating their hurt, of course).

We should remember that orphans who were already here were often treated dreadfully, too. It seems to have been the way of things then, and we cannot judge history on today's standards.

Piper, the Babbler seems to be claiming that the entire Australian electorate are the "forgotten Australians". In so doing, he totally negates the recognition sought by the victims of institutional abuse who've adopted that title.

It's particularly galling because he's obviously a Christian nutter, and much of the abuse was perpetrated by supposedly Christian institutions in the name of his god.

He's not attemting to pass on knowledge, unless hypocritical, obfuscatory preaching counts as that.

I thought CJ Morgan's explanation to Max was spot on - the Forgotten Australians are trying to get some sunlight because they have not been explicitly acknowledged while other abused groups have. There are probably many other groups and individuals in that basket as well. Eg, Lindsay Tanner - now Federal Finance Minister - recently recounted his days in a boarding school getting belted for having the temerity to read a book after "lights out". I bet he never received an apology either. We've probably all been there. The moral to the story is that abuse can happen to anyone who is not in a position of power and who accidently breaks the rules. It's so easy to fall into especially when we're young.

I don't see Peter the Believer hijacking anything. He is best read as complementing the discussion. They say that the fish rots from the head. If justice was to be set and pursued from the top of society, abusers of all stripes would find it harder to operate in this world. His points are perfectly valid, a bit ahead of their time and peripheral to this particular discussion, but perfectly good all the same. Good point too about the law and justice being two completely different things. There's nothing wrong with dealing with the overall problem by burning the candle at both ends.

leigh,
What I would like to see happen here is that State governments acknowledge both the physical and sexual abuse and apologise for that whether they were pommy orphans brought here or our own kids that sustained abuse while in the care of state or NGO institutions.

The government and the churches were responsible for the welfare of these kids and although times were different much of the abuse was criminal

If there are some perpetrators of the abuse walking around then I would like to see them face a court, the same as those that carried out abuse in NGO schools have.

Pied Piper,
I have read your thread about Woods Recomendations and, never had dealings with DoCS, I am 'ignorant' of what goes on there, but it seems to me that neither the NGOs or government run institutions or organisations have a very good track record. The Forgotten Australians report is damming of both.

Maybe Cornflowers suggestion of the involvement of the Auditor General is the best bet to stop future abuse of the kids. Someone once said 'the price of democracy is eternal vigilance'.

OK, one last shot from me. Sorry for the delay, hit my posting limit.
I appreciate a lot of what people are saying, and their good intentions. But you know the old saying about good intentions.
I didn’t want to go into this, but I can see I’ll have to give a quick overview.
I came from a large happy family, but due to my mothers attempts to help a lot of others, I developed an association with a couple of Lost kids, and was drawn into the horrors of their lives. I dealt with it in my teens, in gaol, and have never let it hold me back. I have lived my life as I saw fit, and raised my kids, alone, using my life, and a rotten father, as inspiration to get it right, and I truly believe I did. My kids tell me so, and that’s good enough for me. I have spent decades volunteering, helping others, because I could. My best mate here is a Stolen kid, but he’s like me, has worked out his own life and succeeded with it, we have bonded, as true Aussie mates, that’s all I can say. Cont’.

Cont’.
The point I’ve been trying to make all along is that it IS all the same thing, and yet, wait, there’s more!
Why, with all the knowledge of hindsight and our “wisdom” on such matters, is it still happening now?
Because we haven’t looked at the root of the problem, the real problem.
Think of it as a black diamond, ‘cos it’s sure hard enough, .Stolen is one facet, the Lost another, disabled child services another, kids born with mental problems still another.
Our culture has evolved away from a single set of social rules, change and individuality rule in this Global Village. We developed a certain mindset some time last century and tried all sorts of things with the children, and most were a failure or only partially successful at best. We need to focus on that mindset, figure out some basic principles of dealing with kids and their problems, ways of ensuring total openness and honesty, with the welfare of the whole child as its primary goal.
It won’t be easy, and I can’t imagine how we could convince society to make the effort required, gov’ or private citizens, yet until we do, and face our own fears and prejudices in the process, we will always have children suffering in our midst.
We have achieved so much, it’s time to bring ALL the children into the light!