20th Anniversary of Bringing Them Home
25-May-2017
Today the NSW Government paid tribute to the resilience and courage of Indigenous Australians in marking the 20-year anniversary of Bringing Them Home
– the 1997 National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.
Premier of NSW Gladys Berejiklian said it was important to acknowledge the forced removals had a lasting, devastating social and economic effect on Aboriginal
people.
“The NSW Government recognises the intergenerational impacts of forced removal – and it is appropriate we acknowledge that on this anniversary,” Ms Berejiklian
said.
NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Sarah Mitchell said it was time to take the next steps in order to right the wrongs of the past.
“Government actions over the past 20 years have responded to the symptoms of trauma of the Stolen Generations, but we acknowledge there is more to do,”
Mrs Mitchell said.
“The NSW Government response to the General Purpose Standing Committee has been guided by Stolen Generations’ organisations who have advocated for recognition
and support for many years and are uniquely placed to advise on survivor needs and expectations.”
The NSW Government’s Stolen Generations Reparation Scheme opens for applications on 1 July 2017 and provides ex-gratia payments to all surviving children
removed by the Aborigines Welfare Board up until the board’s abolition in 1969.
For more information visit our Stolen Generations page.
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