And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
via KOLA International
Date: Saturday 13 February 1999 07:06:30
From: Jim & Yvonne Duffield
Subject: The Age: Stolen generation (sic) despairs of apology, begins test
case
THE AGE
Saturday 6 February 1999
Stolen generation despairs of apology, begins test case
By CAROLINE MILBURN - LAW REPORTER
About 700 Aborigines will begin a historic court battle against the
Federal Government next month, seeking compensation for being
taken from their parents by white officials decades ago.
The test case in the Federal Court will have sweeping implications
for the Government and up to 30,000 members of the "`stolen
generation''.
If the Government loses, it could face a multi-million-dollar payout to
the claimants for the suffering caused by their forced removal and
placement in institutions.
The case will also determine whether the Government is liable for
what was done to "half-caste'' Aborigines in the first half of this
century.
Government welfare officials of the time removed "half-caste''
Aboriginal children from their parents to assimilate them into white
society.
The 700 writs involve Northern Territory Aborigines, most aged
between 50 and 70. It is believed to be one of the biggest personal
injury actions launched in Australia.
The first two cases involve Peter Gunner, 51, and Lorna Cubillo, 60,
and will be heard in Darwin by Justice Maurice O'Loughlin on 1March.
Ms Cubillo was taken from her family at Phillip Creek, about 40 kilometres
north of Tennant Creek, when she was about eight. She and 16 other
young children, including an infant still being breast-fed, were loaded
on an open truck by a government official.
They were given a 44-gallon drum of drinking water to share on the
two-day trip to Darwin.
Mr Gunner, then 8, was taken from his mother at Utopia Station, 170
kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, and driven to a Darwin institution.
He next saw his mother 30 years later.
A team of lawyers from the Melbourne firm Holding Redlich prepared
the cases for the North Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service.
Mr Michael Schaefer, a Holding Redlich partner, said the litigants lived
in vibrant, tribal Aboriginal communities before they were removed. But
the separation from their families led to them being isolated and ostracised
by black and white worlds.
"We have lifted the lid on a very dirty rubbish bin dealing with racism in
this country,'' Mr Schaefer said. "Of patrol officers riding into Aboriginal
camps, chasing little six-year-old girls and riding off with them. It is
appalling.''
He said the 700 claimants would seek substantial sums in
compensation. "Why shouldn't they seek appropriate compensation in the
courts like any other Australian citizen would who has suffered an injury,''
he said.
The claim for civil damages against the Government covers loss of
Aboriginal language, culture and heritage. The litigants will also allege
the Commonwealth acted with gross disregard for their welfare as children
and breached its duty of care.
The action is being taken against the Federal Government because the
Commonwealth administered the Northern Territory when the children
were removed.
A spokesman for the federal Attorney-General, Mr Daryl Williams, declined
to discuss the case because the matter was before the court.
But it is believed the Government will argue the conduct of officials
reflected the accepted community standard of the time and it should not
be held liable for their actions. It is also expected to say the claims should
be thrown out of court because the incidents occurred too long ago.
Legal experts said the landmark case would increase pressure on federal
and state governments to avoid costly, lengthy legal battles by offering
some form of reparation to the stolen generation.
The Federal Government has so far refused to implement a key
recommendation of the Human Rights Commission's report on the stolen
generation, which called for an apology and direct financial compensation.
Ms Andrea Durbach, a lawyer and director of the Public Interest Advocacy
Centre, said governments faced big damages bills and legal costs as more
Aborigines turned to the courts for redress.
"These cases are not going to go away and governments could be up for
enormous damages bills, possibly in the millions if they lose,'' she said.
"If the Federal Government had just come out and apologised probably half
of these cases would have fallen away. But these people are feeling such
anger and hurt they are beginning to think that litigation is the only way to
get some acknowledgement for the harm they have suffered,'' Ms Durbach
said.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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