Communist Party of Australia

On February 13, 2008, words were important. Years of discussion boiled down to the words the Parliament used to express its heartfelt Apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, especially the Stolen Generations.

On the anniversary of the Apology this month, Social Justice commissioner Tom Calma summed up the feelings of many people when he said, “One year on, and we are still feeling hope, but also itching for action to follow those fine words”.

Mr Calma acknowledged a national commitment to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and progress towards a new national Indigenous representative body.

“However, there remain areas where we must move swiftly beyond the rhetoric,” he said.

That sentiment was expressed repeatedly at marches, breakfasts, vigils, launches and other events around the country.

Stolen Generations members, advocacy groups and supporters including unions, health lobbyists and church groups expressed frustration and were united in their call to action, with a comprehensive reparations scheme including compensation high on their agenda.

Stolen Generations Victoria chairperson Lyn Austin said the Apology had relieved some of the burdens of the past.

“But only a strong commitment to action will ensure that the future of the Stolen Generations, their families, children and grandchildren, is a future full of optimism, opportunity and equality,” she said.

Some people, like Tasmania’s Michael Mansell and Greens senator Rachel Siewert, expressed a view that little had changed for Aboriginal people in the year since the Apology.

For many, the 1997 Bringing Them Home report and its 54 recommendations still provided a blueprint for the future.

On the day of the anniversary, prime minister Kevin Rudd had been expected to officially open an exhibition of photographs from the Apology.

However, mired in the government’s response to the Victorian bushfires and political manoeuvring over the its $42 billion economic stimulus package, he sent his apologies and federal Indigenous Affairs minister Jenny Macklin to speak on the government’s behalf.

Ms Macklin told guests at the Parliament House launch that the Apology had created a new climate of hope and commitment. “It was a first step to build a bridge of respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and generate the mutual trust and respect needed for closing the gap,” she said.

But the minister said Australia must keep moving forward.

“We must help people to heal if all Australians are to have a better future,” she said. “We understand the vital role of healing in expanding people’s life chances.

“We also understand the vital role of pride in culture in shaping people’s aspirations and choices.”

Minister Macklin announced the establishment of a foundation to address trauma and healing in Indigenous communities, “with a strong focus on the unique needs of Stolen Generations”.

Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue and Greg Phillips will co-chair an interim team that will work with Stolen Generations advocates and Indigenous communities to ensure broad ownership and support for the foundation, which is expected to provide practical and innovative healing services, as well as training and research.

“These community leaders will bring sensitivity, compassion and direction to this important work,” Ms Macklin said.

Funding for the foundation will be announced as part of the 2009-10 Budget.

Ms Macklin also announced an expansion of the Link-Up program (reuniting Stolen Generation members with their families), with 11 more Link-Up caseworkers and five more administrative staff aimed at supporting an extra 351 family reunions and about 100 “Return to Country” reunions.

The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) and the Stolen Generations Alliance (SGA) welcomed news of the consultation process about the new healing foundation.

“The government has recognised that, as a nation, we are at a unique moment in history where we have the power to finally redress the wrongs of the past and ensure our future as a healed and healthy country and restore our dignity on the international stage,” said AIDA President Tamara Mackean.

“The Apology initiated the journey, but the process of healing is one that is ongoing and it may take some time.”

Dr Mackean stressed the need for wide consultation to determine how a Healing Foundation would operate in Australia.

“The development of this model must be designed and directed by our own people,” she said.

SGA co-chair Deb Hocking told The Koori Mail that she would like to have known more detail about the foundation before its announcement, but was pleased the government had established it.

“It is something that we and others have been pushing for a while,” she said.

“A few more details on the day would have been good so people don’t have to speculate or be worried unnecessarily. But I really think we need to put any preconceived ideas aside and give it a go.

“Lowitja and Greg might be just the people we need to push forward.”

The strongest response to the government’s announcement came from National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC) co-chair Helen Moran.

“The buzz on everyone’s lips in the lead up to the Apology anniversary was that the government had nothing to offer, that they had done nothing substantial for the Stolen Generations in the last 12 months and that they were desperately looking for a rabbit to pull out of their empty hat,” Ms Moran told The Koori Mail.

“Well they found a rabbit, but unfortunately it has myxomatosis. The diseased rabbit is the Indigenous Healing Foundation.”

Ms Moran said she was “hugely disappointed” by the government’s lack of consultation with either the NSDC or the SGA before the announcement. She was also critical of the government’s ongoing rejection of compensation for Stolen Generations in favour of broader closing the gaps initiatives targeting all Indigenous Australians.

“This continual use and abuse of the Stolen Generations Apology and the Stolen Generations healing to promote the government’s agenda – which does not include the Stolen Generations – needs to stop,” she said.

Ms Moran also railed against the lack of reference to the Stolen Generations in the title of the foundation, declaring it “a clear manoeuvre” by the government to disregard the specific and unique needs of the Stolen Generations.

Ms Moran was not entirely alone in her criticisms, with other suggestions behind the scenes that the foundation’s establishment had been rushed so the government could announce it on the Apology’s anniversary. Those suggestions were also fuelled by delays in the Prime Minister’s annual report to Parliament on the government’s efforts to close the gap.

Due to the Victorian bushfire disaster, the report’s release was first postponed from February 3 to the eve of the Apology anniversary.

The Koori Mail

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