Compensation or recognition
I have received the following, from the City of Sydney Council, written by the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore:
STOLEN GENERATIONS LEGISLATION
I have asked the NSW Premier to introduce an Act similar to
Tasmania's Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006,
described by the Tasmanian Premier as a "vital step towards
reconciliation". The legislation has received strong support from the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
The Tasmanian Act provides compensation for Aborigines who were
removed from their families between 1935 and 1975, and remained in
state institutional care for more than a year. A NSW Act should also
provide for children placed in foster care.
The Tasmanian Government set up a $5 million Stolen Generations Fund,
most of which will be distributed equally among living members of the
stolen generations, who have six months to apply for compensation.
Payments of up to $5,000 (capped at $20,000 a family) are open to
children of deceased people who would otherwise have been eligible.
The Tasmanian Government has committed to streamlining claims,
including waiving charges for access to archives, child protection,
adoption, births, deaths and marriage records. The Act removes this
barrier to records access, and provides for counselling services.
The small payments are not as important as the greater recognition of
the tragedy that the official Assimilation policy caused to
individuals removed and kept away from their land and their people.
Andrew Reiner's comment: There are so many things wrong with this well-intentioned approach to the vexed issue of compensation or reparation for the gross and grotesque violations of Aboriginal people's rights since 1788, that it is difficult to know where to begin. I will write a longer comment in future. For now I will limit myself to thos one. While no amount of money could possibly make up for the injustices of the past (or the present) the amount mentioned above ($5000 per child of a deceased person, with a maximum of $20,000 per family) is almost as big an injustice as the original crime. People living in poverty may well be tempted to accept such an insult and noone can or has a right to blame them. Compare this with the compensation being paid to the consortium who built the tunnel under the city and you get some idea of our society's priorities. Recognition of the injustices, including the forced removal of children - which was one of the more horrendous things that were done (but by no means the only crime committed in our name) - is absolutely essential. If such recognition is to be followed by monetary compensation then it needs to be commensurate with the crime. Since this cannot be done (how much for a life?) then the amount on offer needs, at least, not to be insulting [To be continued]
STOLEN GENERATIONS LEGISLATION
I have asked the NSW Premier to introduce an Act similar to
Tasmania's Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006,
described by the Tasmanian Premier as a "vital step towards
reconciliation". The legislation has received strong support from the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
The Tasmanian Act provides compensation for Aborigines who were
removed from their families between 1935 and 1975, and remained in
state institutional care for more than a year. A NSW Act should also
provide for children placed in foster care.
The Tasmanian Government set up a $5 million Stolen Generations Fund,
most of which will be distributed equally among living members of the
stolen generations, who have six months to apply for compensation.
Payments of up to $5,000 (capped at $20,000 a family) are open to
children of deceased people who would otherwise have been eligible.
The Tasmanian Government has committed to streamlining claims,
including waiving charges for access to archives, child protection,
adoption, births, deaths and marriage records. The Act removes this
barrier to records access, and provides for counselling services.
The small payments are not as important as the greater recognition of
the tragedy that the official Assimilation policy caused to
individuals removed and kept away from their land and their people.
Andrew Reiner's comment: There are so many things wrong with this well-intentioned approach to the vexed issue of compensation or reparation for the gross and grotesque violations of Aboriginal people's rights since 1788, that it is difficult to know where to begin. I will write a longer comment in future. For now I will limit myself to thos one. While no amount of money could possibly make up for the injustices of the past (or the present) the amount mentioned above ($5000 per child of a deceased person, with a maximum of $20,000 per family) is almost as big an injustice as the original crime. People living in poverty may well be tempted to accept such an insult and noone can or has a right to blame them. Compare this with the compensation being paid to the consortium who built the tunnel under the city and you get some idea of our society's priorities. Recognition of the injustices, including the forced removal of children - which was one of the more horrendous things that were done (but by no means the only crime committed in our name) - is absolutely essential. If such recognition is to be followed by monetary compensation then it needs to be commensurate with the crime. Since this cannot be done (how much for a life?) then the amount on offer needs, at least, not to be insulting [To be continued]
posted by Andrew Reiner at 2/04/2007 11:54:00 AM
1 Comments:
Actually, there is scientific evidence - disputed by mainstrean archaeologists - that Aboriginal people have lived in the Sydney area for at least 100,000 years! It may be hard to believe, but the evidence is dismissed by mainstrean archaeologists on the grounds that, since "we" already know that there were no Aborigines in Australia at that time, therefore the evidence demonstrating occupation 100,000 years ago must be faulty. This is both unscientific and arrogant. Aboriginal people know that they have always lived here, that they belong here and that science is a whiteman's game". Talk of how long Aboriginal people have been in Australia is both disrespectful and arrogant - and is but one of the numerous ways that the colonising culture dehumanises Aboriginal people. This is a very important rationalisation to enable everyone in the colonising culture to feel secure and comfortable even though we are all living on Aboriginal land that has been stolen from the indigenous people. We are all dealing in stolen property; there is now not much that can be done about that. We should, however, call a spade a spade.
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