The Healing Foundation has wholeheartedly welcomed the report by the NSW inquiry into reparations for members of the Stolen Generations.
Parliamentarians spoke about the central importance of healing to the reparations report. They detailed how the process of writing it increased their understanding of healing and how it is different for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They mentioned the importance of collective healing and healing centres.
Healing Foundation CEO Richard Weston said if implemented the inquiry’s recommendations would go a long way towards healing the trauma caused by the Stolen Generations policies, both to Stolen Generations members themselves and their families and communities.
The Healing Foundation particularly welcomes the following recommendations:
- establishing a Stolen Generations Advisory Committee to advise the Premier and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on matters related to the Stolen Generations
- establishing a reparations scheme for Stolen Generations survivors, to be developed in close consultation with Stolen Generations survivors
- funding for collective healing initiatives, programs, forums and community centres to support and assist Stolen Generations survivors and their families and communities
- supporting Coota Girls Corporation, Kinchela Boys’ Home Aboriginal Corporation and the Children of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home Incorporated to establish healing centres to support former residents and their families and communities
- developing a plan to build a trauma-informed workforce to support Stolen Generations survivors and their families and communities
- establishing memorials to acknowledge and commemorate members of the Stolen Generations, including in a prominent Sydney location
- collaborating with and supporting the Coota Girls Corporation, Kinchela Boys’ Home Aboriginal Corporation and Children of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home incorporated and relevant local Aboriginal land councils to establish Keeping Places or museums at the sites of these former homes
- providing funding to the Coota Girls Corporation, Kinchela Boys’ Home Aboriginal Corporation and Children of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home Incorporated to record the testimonies of Stolen Generations survivors
- working with the Australian Government to establish a dedicated fund to assist families with the cost of funeral expenses for members of the Stolen Generations
“We urge the NSW Premier and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to respond expediently to this report and fully implement its recommendations,” Mr Weston said.
“Time is of the essence for many Stolen Generations survivors, and they deserve to see these recommendations implemented.”
