2009

1. The National Archives Australia announce that they plan to close their Darwin office in September 2010, followed by Adelaide in 2011, and two Hobart offices in 2010/2012 due to huge savings requirements. Aboriginal people are shocked because offices are well used by services such as Link-Up to help people find and reconnect with their families.

2008

1. 24 September

   The Greens introduce the Stolen Generations Reparations Tribunal Bill. This bill seeks to implement 'reparations', a key recommendation of the Bringing Them Home report.

   Reparation is much more than monetary compensation and includes "measures such as funding for healing centres, community education projects, community genealogy projects, and funding for access to counselling services, health services, language and culture training for the Stolen Generations." ^[1]
   

   Just reparations are essential to repairing the enduring social, economic and cultural harm experienced by the Stolen Generations.

   — Rachel Siewert, Greens Senator ^[1]

2. 14 February

   Senator Andrew Bartlett introduces the Stolen Generation Compensation Bill into the Senate. The bill calls for ex gratia payments (i.e. without any liability or legal obligation) to be made to the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children. The Senate rejects the bill.

3. 13 February

   The Australian Parliament apologises to the Stolen Generations. Both the government and the opposition support the apology and say 'sorry' to Aboriginal people who were taken away from their families from 1900 to the 1970s. The apology has no legal effect on the ability of Aboriginal people claiming compensation.

   

2007

1. 24 November

   John Howard loses the federal election in a landslide (‘Ruddslide’) defeat against the Australian Labor Party’s candidate Kevin Rudd. Rudd promises to say sorry to the Stolen Generations and to consult with Aboriginal people.

2. 2 October

   A Stolen Generations memorial is opened at Mt Annan near Campbelltown, Western Sydney. The memorial, designed by Aboriginal artist Badger Bates from Wilcannia, features original forest, boardwalks and interpretive signs.

3. 14 September

   Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are the only countries that oppose the UN declaration for the rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide. 134 countries vote for the declaration, 11 countries abstain. The declaration has no legal bindings. Canada initially was in favour, but changed its mind after lobbying of prime minister John Howard.

4. 1 August

   Bruce Trevorrow is the first person to receive Stolen Generations compensation by a court. A court awards him $525,000 for ‘pain, suffering and false imprisonment’ ^[2].

5. 1 August

   In a landmark court case a member of the Stolen Generations has been awarded $525,000 in compensation by a South Australian court for a liftetime of sorrow and pain ^[3]. Bruce Trevorrow was taken from his father aged 13 months. He was given to a white family where he grew up until he was ten, unaware of his Aboriginality. He then saw his mother again, but at this stage was a rebellious boy not belonging to either culture.

   Mr. Trevorrow's life followed the path of many taken children: times in and out of jail and other institutions, poor health, alcoholism, smoking, depression. His siblings who remained with the family were able to overcome life's difficulties.

   The justice's judgment established for the first time that removing a child from his family in these circumstances constituted wrongful imprisonment and was a breach of the state's duty of care. He awarded Mr Trevorrow $450,000 for injuries and losses suffered, and a further $75,000 in damages for his unlawful removal and false imprisonment.

6. This year, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare removed 7,892 children from their families. In 1997, it removed 2,785 children ^[4].

2006

1. October

   The first Stolen Generations compensation scheme in Australia is set up in Tasmania by the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 (Tas).

2. The first Stolen Generations compensation scheme in Australia is set up in Tasmania by the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 (Tas). The Tasmanian government allocated $5 million to Aboriginal people who qualified for the compensation package.
   

   When she worked for this person at this property, her husband raped my mum and I was from that rape.

   — Marjorie Woodrow, Aboriginal woman ^[5]

2005

1. 25 May

   The first official Sorry Day ceremony outside Australia is hosted in Lincoln Fields, London, on 25 May 2005.

2. The National Sorry Day Committee announces that this year, Sorry Day will be a 'National Day of Healing for All Australians' in an attempt to better engage the non-Indigenous Australian community with the plight of the 'Stolen Generations'.

3. Volume two of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey is released. The report says that 12.3% of the carers of Indigenous children aged 0-17 in Western Australia were forcibly removed from their families. Compared with other Indigenous children, the children of members of the Stolen Generations are twice as likely to have emotional and behavioural problems, to be at high risk for hyperactivity, emotional and conduct disorders, and twice as likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

4. The first official Sorry Day ceremony outside Australia is hosted in Lincoln Fields, London, on 25 May 2005.

5. The organisation Stolen Generations Victoria is set up as a result of the 2003 report of the Stolen Generations taskforce. Its purpose is to establish a range of support and referral services that will assist Stolen Generation peoples to reconnect with their family, community, culture and land.

2004

1. The Commonwealth Government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place in Canberra.

2. The Commonwealth government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place in Canberra.

3. 461 'Sorry Books' recording the thoughts of Australians on the unfolding history of the Stolen Generations are inscribed on the Australian Memory of the World Register, part of UNESCO's programme to protect and promote documentary material with significant historical value.

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References