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Stolen birthrights
An apology but no compensation

31 January 2008 - The Economist UK -SINCE he was elected Australia's prime minister in November, Kevin Rudd has moved swiftly to set his Labor government apart from the former conservative coalition's more controversial stands. In December, he went to Bali to declare that Australia, at last, would ratify the Kyoto protocol on climate change. In January, he sent his foreign minister to Washington to advise that Australia would pull its combat troops out of Iraq this year. But none of Mr Rudd's changes matches the historical resonance of a statement he plans to make on February 13th: a formal apology to Australia's indigenous people for past injustices under European settlement.

Mr Rudd is making sure the apology is heard far and wide: he has listed it as the first item of business in Parliament's new session in Canberra. Strictly speaking, it will apply to the so-called “stolen generations” of mixed-race people, whom authorities removed from their families as children and put in foster homes, many run by churches. A 1997 report by Australia's human-rights and equal-opportunity commission found that between one-tenth and one-third of aboriginal children were taken in this way from 1910 until the policy was abandoned in 1970. Estimates put the number at around 55,000. Some surviving victims of the policy told the commission they were physically and sexually abused. Aborigines now comprise about 2% of Australia's population.

The apology will carry much broader symbolic meaning for a people whose forebears occupied Australia for tens of thousands of years before the British claimed it in 1788. The stolen-generation removals were based partly on welfare, but more blatantly on race. Officials in the early 20th century talked of “breeding out the colour”. These and other upheavals, including losses of traditional lands, have left a legacy of trauma, poor health and high prison-custody rates among aborigines. Mr Rudd says he hopes to close a 17-year gap in life-expectancy between indigenous people and other Australians.

The 1997 report recommended both that an apology be offered and that compensation be paid for the stolen generations. During his 11 years in power, John Howard, the former prime minister, refused to offer either. This only compounded public division and aboriginal bitterness. All six state governments have since made apologies. Tasmania has also paid A$5m ($4.5m) compensation for 106 aborigines. But a national apology is what aboriginal leaders have been waiting for.

Mr Rudd himself has ruled out paying compensation. But, he says, saying sorry is a crucial symbol in “building a bridge of respect”. He says he will say it on behalf of the national government, not the present generation of Australians. This may calm misgivings among some about being held accountable for the misdeeds of others. Recent newspaper opinion polls show two-thirds of Australians support the apology. Even while its wording is being finalised, outback aborigines are preparing their journeys to Canberra for the historic day. Christine King, co-chair of the Stolen Generations Alliance, whose own mother was a stolen child, says: “There is a sense of relief that Australia will finally take this step that has been so long in coming.”

Source: The Economist

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

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