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Mansell predicts stolen generation compensation fund this year

10 January 2008 - Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Inc. Media Release - Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Michael Mansell predicts that the Rudd Government will establish a $1b national compensation fund for the stolen generations early this year.

Mr Mansell said, “John Howard’s heart was never in it. Kevin Rudd says he is genuinely dealing with the issue, which is why he readily will say sorry in the first session of Federal Parliament in February this year.

The apology is designed to help heal the wounds of the suffering by the victims who were taken. It clearly will not be enough to say ‘sorry’ but in the same breath deny the victims any practical remedy. An absence of compensation is a contradiction of the apology.

We expect the Prime Minister will gain a commitment from the Cabinet for a $1b national fund. To access that fund Aboriginal children removed would need to prove they were removed by officials and kept away from their family and community for at least a year.

Once those facts were established, the onus would shift to the State to show it made every effort to re-unite the children with their families and their people. If the State could not show it made every reasonable effort, compensation would be payable to the applicant. It would be a defence for the State where it can also show an Aboriginal youth was removed by court order as a result of continuous criminal behaviour. The defence would not be available where such court orders were mere mechanisms for removing Aboriginal children from their families.”

Mr Mansell also said he was unconcerned about Minister Jenny Macklin’s statement that there would be no compensation.

Mr Mansell said, “It would be unrealistic to expect a Junior Minister like Jenny Macklin to walk into the Cabinet and demand its backing for a $1b compensation fund. Only the Prime Minister can do that.

I have no doubt that Prime Minister Rudd will be looking at doing precisely this.

However, it was disappointing to hear Mrs Macklin diminish the importance of the need for compensation by suggesting victims could access general welfare services. This is little more than a cheap, hurtful distraction of the need to provide immediate compensation to the victims.

When any other person in Australia suffers damage such as work related, road accidents or victims of crime, compensation is payable. Call someone a liar in public and you are up for $1m.

No-one suggests that people harmed in the work place or in a road accident should be content with an apology without compensation. Why should it be any different to the victims of the stolen generation policy that caused irreparable harm.”

Michael Mansell
Legal Director
Contact: 0429 310 116

Source: TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CENTRE INC.

Further information: stolen generations issues page - includes news index and external links