The Western Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation (WASGAC) and Bringing Them Home WA (BTHWA) held a late commemoration of the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations at the H&C Café in East Perth (which is across the road from the new Stolen Generations Memorial) on Wednesday 1st March 2023.

Whilst the official date for this Anniversary is 13th February, we delayed our commemoration as the Co-Chairs of Bringing Them Home WA and the Chair of the West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation were in Canberra to attend official events at the invitation of the Healing Foundation.

Tony Hansen, the BTHWA Aboriginal Co-Chair stated: “Sadly, these anniversaries continue to highlight the lack of progress in implementing the 54 recommendations from the 1997 Human Rights Commission Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, which became known as the Bringing Them Home Report and this became apparent as we spoke to Politicians and Public Servants in Canberra.”

“As we continue to point out to these Politicians and Public Servants, the impact of past policies to remove Aboriginal children from their families is considerable and it is inter-generational. In WA, which was most impacted by these policies, over 56% of the Adult Aboriginal Population are either a Stolen Generations Survivor or they are one of their descendants.”

Jim Morrison the Chair of WASGAC who has been involved for over 50 years in various National Organisations that have attempted to provide a Voice stated: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in general and Stolen Generations Survivors in particular, have not had an effective Voice to provide advice to Politicians and Public Servants about understanding the need for culturally informed and culturally safe policies to deal with the ongoing trauma inflicted on families.”

“If Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have a constitutionally enshrined Voice which could provide culturally informed advice about dealing with the “dimensions of our crisis” without the fear of being abandoned or disbanded at the whim of Government, I am confident that we will see positive improvements in Close the Gap measures and in the quality of life for our First Peoples and for Stolen Generations Survivors and their families.

One of the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report into the Stolen Generations tabled 25 years ago was for a compensation scheme. While other states have schemes in place, sadly, WA does not.
We want to change this before we lose any more of our old people.
We have teamed up with Yokai Healing our Spirit and Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corp to launch this petition today on Sorry Day.

The petition asks the Legislative Council to undertake an Inquiry into Compensation Schemes in other States and Territories in Australia for those who suffered because of forcible removal policies and make recommendations to the Government of Western Australia in relation to the establishment of a Compensation or Reparation Scheme in that regard in Western Australia.

https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/LCePetitions.nsf/petitions/22-0012

Please help us by signing this formal petition registered in the WA Legislative Council. Make sure you share this far and wide!

May 26, 2020 marks the 23rd anniversary of the handing down of the Bringing Them Home Report.

Make sure you watch our 3-part Sorry Day 2020 series featuring interviews and stories from Stolen Generations survivors from at least eight different mission sites in Western Australia.

We were looking forward to returning to Wellington Square this year, but due to COVID-19 restrictions we have made Sorry Day 2020 into an ONLINE event. We hope to reach an even wider audience online this year through sharing these recordings. These videos are also available for students to access and we encourage schools and education centres to engage with the content.

Please also see our media release for more information about the ongoing need for truth, justice and healing for Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

Please join us at 9.45am at the Wirin statue in the new Yagan Square in the heart of the city for a yarn and some performances to commemorate Sorry Day 2018.

Sorry Day is an important and special time. Stolen Generations survivors and their families are still looking for healing. To get healing we need truth and justice according to the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report. For that we need everyone’s support!

This year we will also be acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the Moore River Native Settlement/Mogumber Mission.