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Labor should consider all recommendations from Bringing Them Home Report

12 December 2007 - Media Release The Australian Democrats - Queensland Democrat Senator Andrew Bartlett says the new Labor government must consider all the unimplemented recommendations from the Bringing Them Home report.

"Just saying 'sorry', while repeating John Howard's failed mantras about 'practical' measures as an excuse for inaction will not make the sort of difference that is needed," Senator Bartlett said.

"A proper system of compensation for the stolen generations is not 'symbolic', it is an affordable practical and – if done properly - effective measure that will help reduce some of the ongoing harm occurring today.

"As Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, stated in a report released just yesterday, 'the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report still stand as the starting point for a national reconciliation process'.

"In Opposition, Labor supported a Senate Committee report that backed many of the unimplemented recommendations.

"The Rudd Labor government must not just dismiss the many remaining recommendations without proper consideration and consultation, or they will simply be repeating the tragic legacy of mistakes, failures and missed opportunities from the Howard era," Senator Bartlett concluded.

The Australian Democrats

Senator Andrew Bartlett

Source: The Australian Democrats

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