The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) cautiously welcomes the NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee’s recommendation to establish a reparations scheme for the Stolen Generations. PIAC calls for this reparations scheme to be established urgently.
‘We are pleased to see that the parliamentary committee unanimously recommended a reparations scheme and other measures to help address the injustices inflicted on members of the Stolen Generations,’ said PIAC CEO, Edward Santow.
‘We welcome the recommendation to re-open the stolen wages scheme, which aimed to return millions of dollars in unpaid wages to Aboriginal people and their descendants. PIAC was instrumental in the establishment of the original repayment scheme in 2004.
‘The NSW Government must act now to implement these unanimous recommendations, without delay.
‘PIAC has advocated for a reparations scheme over many years. If this report gathers dust, waiting many more years for implementation, the Parliament and the NSW Government will have failed members of the Stolen Generations yet again.
‘Countless reports, starting with the Human Rights Commission’s Bringing Them Home more than 20 years ago, have called for justice for members of the Stolen Generations and their families.
‘We know that the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families has had life-long tragic consequences for those taken, and continues to profoundly affect Aboriginal communities.
‘Apologies by the Australian and NSW Governments were important steps towards reconciliation. The NSW Government must now make good on those words by taking practical action to heal the wounds of the past and their continued ill effects today,’ said Edward Santow.
Read PIAC’s submission to the inquiry.
Watch our ‘Stolen Generations’ video on PIAC’s YouTube channel.
Read the committee’s report.
MEDIA CONTACT: Media and Communications Manager, Gemma Pearce: 0478 739 280.
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