Reconciliation and Social Justice Library

Bringing them Home - Community Guide

Making reparation

1. Recording testimonies

Australian governments should ensure the adequate funding of appropriate Indigenous agencies to record, preserve and administer access to the testimonies of people affected by forcible removal, who wish to provide their histories in written, audio or audio-visual form.

2. Acknowledgement and apology

Australian parliaments, police forces and churches should acknowledge their responsibility and apologise to everyone affected by forcible removal.

3. Commemoration

There should be a national Sorry Day for the children and their families and ATSIC should co-ordinate other commemorations in local and regional areas.

4. Public education

Everybody -- including primary and secondary school children, judges, doctors, police and other decision-makers -- should be told about the history of forcible removal and the continuing effects on families, communities and the next generation.

5. Going home to country

Family reunion workers should have enough funds to help people go home to their country and to tell their communities about the history of forcible removal and its effects.

6. Learning the language and culture again

Language, culture and history centres should be established in each region to teach the separated children and their descendants their language and to teach the history to everyone.

7. Identification

Indigenous organisations which help people find their families should be able to certify a person is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and is accepted as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by the organisation.

8. Compensation

A person who was a forcibly removed child should get a lump sum amount for compensation unless the removal was justifiable. The Inquiry did not decide how much that should be. In addition to the lump sum, anyone who can prove harm caused by forcible removal (of themselves or a child or a parent) should be compensated for that harm on the grounds of:

• racial discrimination;

• arbitrary deprivation of liberty;

• pain and suffering;

• abuse;

• disruption of family life;

• loss of cultural rights and fulfilment;

• loss of native title rights;

• labour exploitation;

• economic loss;

• loss of opportunities.

9. National Compensation Fund

Australian governments should establish a National Compensation Fund so people don't have to go to court to be compensated for the wrongs done to them. A Board should be set up to administer the fund, made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and chaired by an Indigenous person. The Board should not be legalistic or formal, but culturally appropriate and accessible to all Indigenous people.

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