Joe (Loudmouth),

I've been described as a lot of things - but "stupid"
has not been one of them - until now.

Hi Foxy,

Surely you would be aware that memory, oral recollection, is - as Leoj points out beautifully - not particularly reliable. Haven't you ever had disputes with siblings, etc., about something that you or they were SURE had happened and in a certain way, only for them to disagree ? Surely you, like the rest of us, have embroidered stories from the past, only to find independently that the realities were somewhat different ? We all do it.

Imagine this going before a court: any judge would suggest that oral testimony, based on memory , is nowhere near enough as far as evidence goes. IF it is backed up by some independent evidence, say written records, and especially evidence from different and independent sources, then maybe the whole package could constitute evidence. But not oral memory on its own.

We've surely witnessed how difficult this is in the cases of Rolf Harris and Bill Cosby ? Yeah, I think those bastards are guilty as hell, BUT I'm not the judge, and emotion very much creeps in there, a sense of betrayal of their public images by a couple of sleaze-bags.

But I think I'm wasting my time.

Joe

Joe (Loudmouth),

On 26 May 1997 the landmark "Bringing Them Home"
Report was tabled in Federal Parliament. The Report
was the result of a national inquiry that investigated
the forced removal of Aboriginal children from
their families.

The Report was a vital step in the healing journey of
many Stolen Generation members. It was the first time
their stories were publicly acknowledged.

It was also the first time it was formally reported
that what governments did to these children
was inhumane and the impact has been life-long.

A 1994 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people
aged over 25 had been removed from their families in
childhood. A figure which seems to be confirmed by
research since the "Bringing Them Home Report."
Australian numbers are in the tens of thousands.

I suggest that you try to get hold of that Report.

It just may clarify things for you.

Although I suspect I am wasting my time.

Foxy,

Do you understand what self-reporting is? How did the ABS get its data?

That inquiry, how did it get its data? Did anyone ever cross-check with the damned reliable government records?

If not, why not? -Since it must have been obvious that the records exist.

Questions that anyone who is at all interested in balance, make that the facts, would be demanding answers to.

Hi Foxy,

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission was given specific terms of reference by the Attorney General to thoroughly investigate all the relevant material and I quote "past laws, practices and policies which resulted in the separation of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children from their families by compulsion, duress or undue influence, and the effects of those laws, practices and policies;"

It was not a speculative fishing expedition, as some try to suggest, but a properly conducted inquiry. If the findings had suited the mind set of the "deniers" they would have accepted it with gusto, but since it did not go their way, they now try to denigrate it as nothing but useless nonsense.

On this thread Joe and Leo, using the words of Leo, its unacceptable "self-reporting". Yet on the Andrew Bolt thread the same pair were quick to accept, without evidence, Bolt's self-reporting of his so called assault by in Bolts words "left wing Fascists". Maybe they only accept self-reporting, which btw was not the only basis for the report, when it suits their mind set on the particular issue.

Dear Paul,

There's not much more to say.

We know that few records of stolen children were kept,
that some were deliberately destroyed or lost.
That some administrators tried to tout their
"successful assimilation" of Aboriginal people by
deliberately understating the Aboriginal children's
numbers thus distorting data.

Between 1883 and 1969
we're told that more than 6,200 children were stolen
in NSW alone.

I'll repeat again that the 1994 survey by the ABS
stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people
aged over 25 had been removed from their families
in childhood. This figure which
seems to be confirmed by research since the "Bringing Them
Home" Report.
Australia wide numbers are in the tens of thousands.

Anyway, I have no wish to argue any further.
There's no point. Before I go I shall leave on a more
positive note by giving you the link of a speech that
the famous journalist Jeff McMullen made.
It lifted my spirits - hopefully it will do the same
for yours. It's worth a read:

http://newmatilda.com/2017/06/04/after-mabo-koikis-vision-for-a-new-great-society/