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Wellbeing survey - FUSE - Department of Education & Training

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How does your wellbeing compare to other Australians? The average Personal Wellbeing Index score nationwide is 75.7. If you take this brief survey you will instantly receive your personal wellbeing score. From Australian Unity and Deakin University.

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By the IMF

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Malala Yousafzai - The right to learning should be given to any child

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The Stolen Generation

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Watch a Video of Beijing's Choking Air Pollution

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More than 460 million people across northern China are experiencing serious pollution. This video, made in Beijing, shows how bad it gets

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Are you responsible for China’s air pollution? 

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Are you responsible for China’s air pollution? 

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Are you responsible for China's pollution?

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In 2005, China became the world's biggest polluter, overtaking the United States and the European Union. While the idea of a global commons means the whole world suffers, it is in Chinese...

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Jakarta Flooding Threatens Public Transport, Poor Residents

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Jakarta Flooding Threatens Public Transport, Poor Residents

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As rainy season floods battered Jakarta this week, the city's new governor blamed a curious source: development projects to build light rail and rapid transit systems in Indonesia's capital city.

"I have communicated and directly checked the scenes. The problem is that parts of the small canals are obstructed by ongoing projects like MRT, LRT, and so on," said Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, referring to the mass rapid transit and light rail transit, respectively.

If his administration delays the projects' development, it could mean traffic-choked Jakarta will be even less navigable than before.

​ Transport gridlock

Jakarta, like many megacities that grew rapidly in the 20th century, has notoriously bad traffic. About 3.5 million people commute to work in the capital every day, sitting in multiple hours of traffic each way. Only about 56 percent of them use public transportation.

The "road coverage" of Jakarta is very low: about 8-9 percent, which means that percent of the developed land is dedicated to roads and alleys. In contrast, it is twice that in Tokyo and four times that in New York. Jakarta has lagged behind other large Southeast Asian cities such as Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in developing a metro.

The groundbreaking for the MRT started in 2013, and the first segment, which runs from South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout in Central Jakarta, is scheduled to open in March 2019.

The path of construction included major thoroughfares like Sudirman Road (Jalan Sudirman) that were flooded with almost 50 centimeters (19 inches) of water this week. The head of the Jakarta Water Resources Office, Teguh Hendarwan, claimed the construction constricted waterways, which he reported to the governor.

The MRT leadership has denied that the project is responsible for flood-related damage.

"We have made sure that what we are doing is in line with the environmental impact analysis from the beginning and we have also ensured that our drainage is always [properly] maintained," Tubagus Hikmat, secretary of the MRT company, said Wednesday.

​ Poorest hit the hardest

Beyond the soggy commuters, the low-income residents of the North Jakarta slums and neighborhoods are among those hit hardest by the rainy season.

Most live in poorly constructed homes and face not just heavy downpours, but also the worst effects of rising sea levels and subsidence, the slow process by which Jakarta is sinking into the ground.

"Four years ago, 90 percent of the district was flooded, and people's homes and belongings destroyed," Muhammed Andri, head of the Penjaringan district in northern Jakarta, told Reuters. "Since then we've relocated 1,200 families to new low-cost buildings in the area," he added.

"The rainy season floods are actually better this year," said Gugun Muhammad, an activist with the Jakarta-based Urban Poor Consortium. "Worse are the floods from the sea."

"There are many causes of flood-related damage in Jakarta," said Nila Ardhiani, director of the Amrta Institute for Water Literacy. "First of course is land subsidence ... Jakarta just gets lower and lower each year." The primary cause for this is overzealous groundwater extraction from millions of wells across the city, which is itself a reaction to the fact that Jakarta didn't provide public water services until this year.

"Floods further aggravate the effects of subsidence," said Ardhiani. "And of course there are management issues. The new administration should improve the maintenance of water pumps," she said, as a starting point. In general, she said, new governor aside, most people involved with infrastructure are the same as before, so what they need is more directed management. "There needs to be control from the top-down to ensure we can deal with rain like what we had in recent days."

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голос америки

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Jakarta Flooding Threatens Public Transport, Poor Residents

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As rainy season floods battered Jakarta this week, the city's new governor blamed a curious source: development projects to build light rail and rapid transit systems in Indonesia's capital city. "I have communicated and directly checked the scenes.

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Japan has the oldest population in the world.

Some senior citizens in Japan are intentionally committing petty crimes because they view life in jail as better than life outside, reports Bloomberg.

The Japanese government is struggling to deal with the ageing inmate population.

Japan has the world's oldest population, with more than a quarter of its citizens aged 65 or older.

The ageing population has already put a strain on Japan's financial system and retail industry. But in recent years, another unexpected trend has been unfolding: In record numbers, elderly people in Japan are committing petty crimes so they can spend the rest of their days in prison.

According to Bloomberg, complaints and arrests involving older citizens are outpacing those of any other demographic in Japan, and the elderly crime rate has quadrupled over the past couple of decades.

In prisons, one out of every five inmates is a senior citizen. And in many cases - nine out of 10, for senior women - the crime that lands them in jail is petty shoplifting.

The unusual phenomenon stems from the difficulties of caring for the country's elderly population. The number of Japanese seniors living alone increased by 600% between 1985 and 2015, Bloomberg reported. Half of the seniors caught shoplifting reported living alone, the government discovered last year, and 40% of them said they either don't have family or rarely speak to them.

For these seniors, a life in jail is better than the alternative.

"They may have a house. They may have a family. But that doesn't mean they have a place they feel at home," Yumi Muranaka, head warden of Iwakuni Women's Prison, told Bloomberg.

It costs more than $US20,000 a year to keep an inmate in jail, according to Bloomberg, and elderly inmates drive that cost even higher with special care and medical needs. Prison staff members are increasingly finding themselves preforming the duties of a nursing home attendant. But female inmates interviewed by Bloomberg suggested they feel a sense of community in prison that they never felt on the outside.

"I enjoy my life in prison more. There are always people around, and I don't feel lonely here. When I got out the second time, I promised that I wouldn't go back. But when I was out, I couldn't help feeling nostalgic," one of the women told Bloomberg.

Intentionally getting arrested isn't necessarily unique to Japan. In the United States, for example, there have been cases of people deliberately getting locked up to gain access to healthcare, avoid harsh weather conditions, or force themselves to quit a drug habit.

But the scale of Japan's problem is alarming authorities. The government is trying to combat its senior crime problem by improving its welfare system and social services program, according to Bloomberg, but the wave of senior criminals doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.

"Life inside is never easy," social worker Takeshi Izumaru said. "But for some, outside, it's worse."

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Elderly people in Japan are getting arrested on purpose because they want to go to prison

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Japan has the oldest population in the world. Some senior citizens in Japan are intentionally committing petty crimes because they view life in jail as better than life outside, reports Bloomberg. The Japanese government is struggling to deal with the ageing inmate population.

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By United Nations

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 ( General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles).

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly,

Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11

1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.

2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 ( General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.

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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

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To create scatterplots

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Animated global statistics that everyone can understand

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Beijing sees dramatic reduction in air pollution but residents wonder if the change is sustainable

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Beijing sees dramatic reduction in air pollution but residents wonder if the change is sustainable

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Updated January 19, 2018 17:57:48

A major anti-pollution drive has, for now at least, cleaned up Beijing's once notorious air, authorities in the Chinese capital say.

This month Beijing's Government released figures showing the most dangerous air pollution particles, known as PM2.5, have dropped by a third over the past five years.

Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said the average reading for the smallest and most dangerous PM2.5 particulate matter was down to 58 micrograms per cubic metre, reaching a five-year goal of getting below 60.

Authorities say very favourable weather in late 2017 during the onset of winter helped get the city across the line.

"Five years ago many people, many 'insiders' were concerned that 60 was too ambitious a target to achieve," said Ma Jun, the director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs - a non-profit organisation.

"If there wasn't a [Government] 10-point action plan, you could argue this couldn't happen naturally."

The national battle against air pollution commenced in 2013 amid horrendous smog in the country's north, and has seen industrial factories targeted, inspections increased and restrictions on households burning coal in winter.

"Some of the dirty factories have been ordered to either improve their pollution control or they've been shut down," Mr Ma said.

As the five-year deadline loomed at the end of last year, thousands of inspectors from across China were sent to enforce regulations in areas near Beijing.

A construction industry revival had threatened to wipe out much of the environmental gains.

Officials in Beijing's neighbouring province Hebei began enforcing a ban on coal burning - a traditional way of heating homes.

But a natural gas shortage in some areas left thousands of villagers to temporarily endure the winter without heating.

Others said the alternatives to coal are costly.

"This winter has been cold because many people feel electric heating is quite expensive. So they're just using it sparingly," Liu Songmei, a baker in the town of Zhuozhou, about an hour and a half drive from the capital, said.

"But back when we burned coal, we were all coughing every day. I think the costs of change are worth it."

Residents hopeful the improvement won't be short-lived

While Beijing's average air quality improved, it is still almost six times above the World Health Organisation's recommended level.

And while most major cities are enjoying cleaner air, some have gone backwards.

Last year the north-eastern industrial province of Heilongjiang saw PM2.5 levels rise by 10 per cent.

Smaller increases were seen in several south-eastern provinces.

Residents of the Beijing are hopeful that the clearer air won't be temporary.

"It makes me feel so happy to see the sun and blue sky every day," office worker Li Ting said.

"The only reason I'm wearing a mask now is because I'm cold."

First posted January 19, 2018 07:31:22

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How a city of 21 million people cleaned up its air

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Updated January 19, 2018 17:57:48 A major anti-pollution drive has, for now at least, cleaned up Beijing's once notorious air, authorities in the Chinese capital say. This month Beijing's Government released figures showing the most dangerous air pollution particles, known as PM2.5, have dropped by a third over the past five years.

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Politics

Read why Aboriginal children were stolen from their families, where they were taken and what happened to them. The horrific abuse they suffered in institutions and foster families left thousands traumatised for life.

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This is no ordinary resource: It includes a fictional story, quizzes, crosswords and even a treasure hunt.
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Quick overview

One of the darkest chapters of Australian history was the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Children as young as babies were stolen from their families to be placed in girls and boys homes, foster families or missions. At the age of 18 they were 'released' into white society, most scarred for life by their experiences.

These Aboriginal people are collectively referred to as the 'Stolen Generations' because several generations were affected.

Many Aboriginal people are still searching for their parents and siblings.

Watch this 8-minute video from Australian Screen that summarised the key points of the Stolen Generations:

I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives. -Jennifer, personal story in the Bringing Them Home Report

A guide to the Stolen Generations

Define 'Stolen Generations'

The term "Stolen Generations" is used for Aboriginal people forcefully taken away (stolen) from their families between the 1890s and 1970s, many to never to see their parents, siblings or relatives again. Because the period covers many decades we speak of "generations" (plural) rather than "generation".

Why were Aboriginal children stolen?

This is the most burning question for members of the Stolen Generations. In removing their children white people stole Aboriginal people's future. Language, tradition, knowledge, dances and spirituality could only live if passed on to their children. In breaking this circle of life white people hoped to end Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of "the Aboriginal problem".

In the early 20th century under the assimilation policy white Australians thought Aboriginal people would die out. In three generations, they thought, Aboriginal genes would have been 'bred out' when Aboriginal people had children with white people.

"It was a presumption for many years that we girls would grow up and marry nice white boys," says Aboriginal woman Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations [31]. "We would have nice fairer children who, if they were girls, would marry white boys again and eventually the colour would die out. That was the original plan - the whole removal policy was based on the women because the women could breed."

Adult Aboriginal people resisted efforts to be driven out of towns by simply coming back. But children taken away were much easier to control.

I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming.-Aunty Rhonda Collard, member of the Stolen Generations [10]

Aboriginal children who were taken away also fed the insatiable demand for station workers and domestic servants. Without these cheap, and often unpaid, labourers white Australians wouldn't have been able to build the wealth and infrastructure that helped them prosper. This is where the Stolen Generations and the stolen wages become one story.

Authorities also took children away pretending that Aboriginal parents would neglect them. There is evidence, however, that kids were malnourished or starving because Aboriginal people were not paid the full wages they were owed [7].

Which children were taken away?

Authorities targeted mainly children of mixed descent, i.e. what they called 'half-caste' Aboriginal children (caution, this is a derogative term!). It was thought these Aboriginal children could be assimilated more easily into white society.

During this time many children were not told that they were Aboriginal and discovered this much later in their lives. So-called 'A grade' babies were not obviously Aboriginal and were fostered out without telling their new parents their heritage. For 'B grade' babies, one could tell their Aboriginal heritage if knowing "what to look out for". [46]

Aboriginal author Sally Morgan wrote about her experiences in her book ' My Place '.

What happened to the stolen children?

Often babies were stolen at birth, and their mother given no chance of seeing them for the first time. They were called ' Blanket Babies ' because nurses covered them with a blanket to hide them from their mothers. [46]

The stolen children were raised on missions or by foster parents, totally cut off from their Aboriginality. They were severely punished when caught talking their Aboriginal language. Some children never learned anything traditional and received little or no education. Instead the girls were trained to be domestic servants, the boys to be stockmen.

Many of the stolen girls and boys were physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Many babies born to girls raped by white men were also taken away from them, sometimes as soon as they were born.

There is no black or white, we are both of those. I am black and I am white. We were the product of white men raping our traditional women. We were an embarrassment. No-one wanted us. They just wanted us out of the way. -Zita Wallace, taken aged eight years [8]

Boys and girls were brought into separate institutions which they (and some experts) would later compare with German concentration camps and the holocaust. Many tried to run away but few succeeded. Many never saw their parents again or were told they were orphans.

We were each handed a pair of pyjamas with a number Mr Borland, the manager, had given us earlier printed on the pocket, and a shirt and pair of shorts also. I was number 33. Not Bill. Not even Simon. Just number 33. -Bill Simon, taken away aged 10 [14]

The most infamous institutions are following. Be careful when you mention them to Aboriginal people, a lot of hurt and bad memories might come up.

Bomaderry Children's Home (United Aborigines Mission) operated from 24 May 1908 to 1981 (59 Beinda Street, Bomaderry).

Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Home (Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls), originally a hospital, operated from 1911 to 1969. About 1,200 girls were placed in Cootamundra during this time. It celebrated its centenary on 11 August 2012.

Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Home (Kinchela Training Institution) which moved to Kempsey in 1924. About 600 Aboriginal boys passed through Kinchela before it was closed in 1970. www.kinchelaboyshome.org.au

Mittagong Boys' Home

Kempsey

Parramatta Girls' Home which operated from 1887 until 1986. About 30,000 girls were locked up during that time. The home was also knows as the Industrial School for Girls, Girls Training School and Girls Training Home. Parragirls is a network of more than 350 women who lived in the home. Parramatta Girls is a play by Alana Valentine that is part of the HSC syllabus since 2010, contributing to the survivor's healing process.

Kahlin Compound, Darwin

The Bungalow, Alice Springs

Box Hill Boys Home, Melbourne

Many of those who were stolen established links with the area where they stayed for many years. After they left the institutions these people settled in the area.

However, the women and men also passed on the kinds of abuse they suffered to their own children (intergenerational trauma).

Sometimes at night we'd cry with hunger. We had to scrounge in the town dump, eating old bread, smashing tomato sauce bottles, licking them. - Bringing Them Home - Community Guide, children's experiences

Aerial photo of the former Cootamundra Girls Home. The property is near 39 Rinkin Street, Cootamundra, NSW 2590.

How many children were stolen?

That is not easy to answer. Few records of stolen children were kept, some were deliberately destroyed or just lost. Some administrations tried to tout their "successful assimilation" of Aboriginal people by deliberately understating Aboriginal numbers, thus distorting data.

Hence numbers can only be roughly estimated. It is estimated that between 1883 and 1969 more than 6,200 children were stolen in NSW alone [1][32].

A 1994 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people aged over 25 had been removed from their families in childhood [2], a figure which seems to be confirmed by research since the Bringing Them Home Report [3]. Australia-wide numbers are in the tens of thousands.

If you apply this proportion to the 2011 Census figures of the Aboriginal population you'll get around 14,700 Stolen Generations members for that year. Considering those with immediate family who had been removed, an additional 160,000 Aboriginal people are directly affected by the policies of the Stolen Generations. [52]

The [South Australian] government was unable to say how many Stolen Generation people live in the state. -Statement in a 2007 article about the first court-ordered compensation ruling [5]

When were the children stolen?

Towards the end of the 19th century authorities started to take children away without a legal framework. A framework was established in 1909 with the Aborigines Protection Act.

During the 1960s the child removal process slowed down but continued well into the 1970s. Some of the schools and missions who held the Stolen Generations did not close until the early 1980s (e.g. Bomaderry Children's Home in NSW [12]).

What were the effects on the stolen children?

The effects on the stolen children and their families were profound and are ongoing.

Aboriginal people suffer from many social and personal problems including mental illness, violence, alcoholism and welfare dependance, but there are many more issues members of the Stolen Generations suffer from.

Is there any official documentation of the Stolen Generations?

On 26 May 1997 the landmark Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament. The report was the result of a national inquiry that investigated the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report was a vital step in the healing journey of many Stolen Generations members. It was the first time their stories were acknowledged in public. It was also the first time it was formally reported that what governments did to these children was inhumane and the impact has been lifelong.

The full report is available at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

You can also watch the Commission's 30-minute documentary about the separation of Aboriginal children from their families.

More children are being taken today than during the Stolen Generations period

2,785

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in 1997 when the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament [49].

16,846

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in June 2016 [49].

Children continue to be taken from their families. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) has the authority to remove children from their families if they were "at risk of significant harm".

The injustices of the past must never, never happen again.-former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, in his apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008.

If you don't already know, the Stolen Generation scenario still applies today and has been here for a long time and will continue to be here.-Paul Ralph, CEO of KARI Aboriginal Resources Inc [28]

About 60 children are being taken away every month by child protection services, says Elder Djiniyini Gondarra, who represents 8,000 Yolngu people of east Arnhem Land [29]. "Children are being taken away from us at numbers not seen since the Stolen Generations."

Indeed, since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 the number of Aboriginal children in care has increased by 65% [44].

Aboriginal children are

almost 8 times more likely to be the subject of departmental intervention,

9 times more Aboriginal children are on care and protection orders [21], and

10 times more Aboriginal children are in out-of-home care than non-Aboriginal kids [39].

The current generation may one day grow up to say they, too, had been removed from their families.

In Victoria, only about 60% of Koorie children in care remained connected to their family and culture [37].

Fact In 2012, Olga Havnen, a senior Northern Territory government official, revealed that more than $80m was spent on the surveillance of families and the removal of children compared with just $500,000 on supporting the same impoverished families. Her warning of a second Stolen Generation led to her sacking. [41]

Why are they still taken away?

Intergenerational effects of separation from family and culture are partly to blame: parents stolen as kids are passing on this trauma to their own children.

But many government workers who decide about removing children seem to have difficulty telling neglect from poverty.

Larrakia elder Dr Christine Fejo-King was a consultant to the NT Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. She found neglect was the biggest reason why Aboriginal children were removed from their families, but the system was confusing the effects of absolute poverty with the concept of neglect. [53]

"There's a difference between absolute poverty which is often then equated to neglect as opposed to actual life-threatening situations for that child as a result of the people that they're living with in an unsafe place," she said.

Aboriginal children are mostly removed for 'neglect' or 'emotional abuse'. I have seen first hand how these judgements are made on a racist basis, or arise directly from the extreme poverty faced by families.-Padraic Gibson, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney [43]

Homework: Three generations fearing for their kids

Here is what Aboriginal mother Kelly Briggs said about her own fears, those of her mum and of her grandmother [40]:

"What happens if the small amount of work I have gained dries up [...]? What if money again becomes so tight that shoes, uniforms, excursions, lunches or transport [...] become issues that keep my kids from turning up at school on occasion? What exactly is the scope of these truancy officers? Do they give my kids lunch? Buy them uniforms? Will my name be added to some department of community services list somewhere? Will there be a mark upon my name that gives rise to visits from people who can remove my children from my care?

"I spoke honestly and frankly with my mother about my worries. She was amazed that this is still happening [...]. We spoke of her own mother's obsession with cleanliness, which sprang from her fear of the dreaded 'welfare man', a government employee who could come to your house and demand to be let inside to ensure your house was clean, that there was adequate food available, that the children were going to school.

"She then went on to tell me about her own fears when she was raising me and my siblings: the absolute terror she felt when she had to collect food vouchers of some nameless person swooping in to take us kids off her because she was facing hardship after my father passed away. The tremble in her voice as she recounted this broke my heart."

Questions

Why is Aunty Kelly fearing her kids can be taken away?

Find out how much Kelly has to pay for the items she has listed.

Find one word that represents the effect the women's worries had on their lives.

In which years were the women in Kelly's family worried about their children?

Research what rights the "welfare man" had, which government agency was allowed to take kids "facing hardship", and what can happen today if kids don't turn up at school.

With the background of Kelly's story above, explain what she said below.

In the back of my mind, I always hear the voice that says "don't ever let anyone know you're doing it tough, because they will take your kids from you".-Kelly Briggs, Aboriginal mother [40]

The new Stolen Generation is much larger

A Special Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Community Services found that in March 2008 there were 4,458 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care,4 times as many Aboriginal children as were in foster homes, institutions or missions in 1969, during the Stolen Generations [19]. 8% of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over were removed from their natural families in 2008 [22].
By 2014, almost 35% of all children in care were Aboriginal. But Aboriginal children were making up only 4.4% of Australia's total child population. [44]

From February 2001 to August 2007 the number of children reported to DoCS increased by 300% to 55,303 [18].

In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent 6.3% of the under-18s, yet in 2006 they made up over 25% of those in out-of-home care [26]. In 2011 in New South Wales, 33% of Aboriginal children and young people were in the care system, and the national figure was 36% [28].

In Western Australia, 46% of children in state care were Aboriginal in 2011, in regional areas "nearly 100%" were thought to be Aboriginal [24].

Filmmaker John Pilger investigates this new stolen generation in Utopia. "The theft is now higher than at any time in the last century," he found. In mid-1997 there were 2,785 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care across Australia. By mid-2012 there were 13,299 - almost a five-fold increase.

Pilger notes the NT government spent $80 million in one year removing children but just $500,000 supporting impoverished families. [38]

If you don't fix the underlying issues-unemployment, housing-that contribute to child protection, Aboriginal children will continue to be removed from their families. -Julie Tommy Walker, Aboriginal leader and Innawonga woman [24]

If Aboriginal children are put into foster care, they should at least be put into other Aboriginal families. These children's safety is "always grounded in their culture" [20] because they need to remain connected to the communities and be sure and strong in their cultural identity.

But in 2013, in the Northern Territory, about 66% of children are taken away from their culture and community. To no surprise, one-third of the Aboriginal children removed to non-Aboriginal homes have told the government they had lost all contact with family [36].

The madness of the past is still the cruelty of today.-Jeff McMullen, journalist [36]

Only one day a year

An Aboriginal Perth father can only see his two daughters for what equates to one day a year [23].

His two children have been removed from their mother's care by the Department of Child Protection (DCP) and placed with non-Aboriginal carers for 4 years.

The father lodged a complaint saying that the department failed to let the children know about their family and culture. He was only allowed to see his daughters one hour every fortnight which "equates to one day a year".

The man's mother was a member of the Stolen Generations. "[I ] saw my mother and all her siblings taken from my grandparents, and my grandparents taken from my great grandparents," he said.

Today's numbers of stolen children are so high that in January 2014 Aboriginal grandmothers from Gunnedah in northern NSW formed the group Grandmothers Against Removals in an effort to highlight the process of removal used by the New South Wales Department of Children's Services.

Was it legal to steal Aboriginal children?

With all the pain and trauma caused by the child removal policies one has to ask: Was this legal? Didn't these laws violate basic human rights?

These questions were put to Australia's High Court in 1997 when two members of the Stolen Generations sued the Commonwealth (Kruger vs Commonwealth). They argued that the laws breached basic fundamental human rights such as the right to due process before the law, equality before the law, freedom of movement and freedom of religion.

In a "dramatic demonstration of Australia's lack of rights protection" [27] the High Court held that none of these rights were protected. We are not talking Aboriginal rights here-we are talking human rights!

In other words, it was perfectly legal for Australia's government to forcibly remove Aboriginal children.

Australia's failure to protect basic human rights falls hardest on the poor, the marginalised and the socioeconomic disadvantaged. That is, they fall hardest on Aboriginal people, families and communities.

Stolen Generation reunions

Members of the Stolen Generations yearn most to reunite with their lost loved ones. Sometimes family members find each other just in time, sometimes just a short time too late. Services which help people reunite need more funding.

We didn't find our family until I was 11 or 12. -Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Aboriginal barrister [6]

Stolen Generation member dies only months after reunion

A 107-year-old member of the Stolen Generations died only months after she was finally reunited with members of her original people in Port Hedland, Western Australia [4]. Belinda Dann's life is a sad example of many other members of the Stolen Generations, many of whom died broken-hearted because they never saw their loved ones again.

Belinda was six years old when she was taken from her mother. Along with sisters she was taken to Beagle Bay mission in north-western Australia. When they asked for their mother they were told she would come which she never did. She married as a teenager and moved to Port Hedland. She remembered her Aboriginal name but did not know who she was and where she came from.

By coincidence one of Belinda's grandsons mentioned her Aboriginal name in a conversation with an Aboriginal girl who had heard of Belinda and was connected to her people. A 100-year-long search was over. Belinda met her people and, incredibly, started speaking in her native Aboriginal language again. Four months later she died.

We didn't know we were related. You find it out at 20 or 30, sitting in a pub drinking. -Richard Pittman, Stolen Generations member, taken aged four [11]

Re-union services need more funding

The main service members of the Stolen Generations can use to find loved ones is Link-Up (see below). But Link-Up needs more resources to work effectively [25]. Reunions take too long to be organised, and once they had been, they were far too short, or people were unable to afford return visits.

Some Aboriginal people feel like being "stolen again" when they are unable to revisit their newly found family [25].

Healing members of the Stolen Generations

The hibiscus flower is a symbol for the Stolen Generations. It was chosen because its lilac colour denotes spiritual healing and compassion and for the fact that it is widespread, grows everywhere and is a survivor [30]. Photo: butupa, Flickr

On 13 February 2009, one year after it apologised to the Stolen Generations, the Australian government promised to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.

The foundation is designed to deal with the "trauma experienced by all Aboriginal people as the after-effect of colonisation" [13], but with a particular focus on the Stolen Generations.

It won't deliver healing services, instead it funds healing work, educates communities and social workers and evaluates healing programs to find out what works.

According to Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist Dr Greg Phillips, healing is "a spiritual process that includes recovery from addiction, therapeutic change and cultural renewal" [13].

Healing is not just another government program. It has taken many generations to get to this level of trauma and it will take quite a few to fully recover from it. -Dr Greg Phillips, Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist from the Waanyi people [13]

Many members of the Stolen Generations attend annual reunions where they meet fellow Aboriginal people to share their stories and experiences they endured as children in the institutions where they were raised. The Link-Up service (see bottom of this page) often supplies funding for these reunions. For many this is the start of their journey of healing.

Denying history: 'Not stolen, but rescued'

A significant number of Australians disagreed with the apology delivered in February 2008 to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Here are their main arguments:

The Stolen Generations don't exist. Some people simply and flatly deny that children were stolen. They want to see 'proof' and claim no-one could 'find' them. For example, journalist Andrew Bolt claimed the Stolen Generations were "a giant intellectual fraud with unforgivable consequences" and "no one has yet produced a single child who was stolen under a government policy to remove children just because they were Aboriginal and not because they needed help." [45]

Aboriginal children were 'rescued'. Supporters claim that Aboriginal children were not stolen but 'rescued' from a family and community environment that was "rife with rape, incest, drug and/or alcohol abuse and insanitary living conditions" [9]. The Aboriginal children were 'given a chance'.

I've asked my granny if she thought she was rescued. She replied, "I didn't need rescuing from my mother's love."-Che Cockatoo-Collins [16]

'We did not do it'. People who refuse to apologise to the Stolen Generations feel that they or their ancestors had no part in what happened, hence shared no responsibility for the pain caused.

An apology leads to compensation claims. Many people fear that after the apology "a flood of compensation claims will be forthcoming" running to "millions of dollars" [9].

The "white stolen generations"

Did you know that in Australia there is another stolen generation, one which shares the pain and consequences? It's called the "white stolen generation" to distinguish it from the Aboriginal stolen generation.

In the five decades up to 1982, the newborn babies of young, single women were forcibly removed from them for adoption, a practice sometimes called 'baby farming'. Mothers were drugged, tethered to beds, not allowed to see their babies, told they were dead. [47] Many of these adoptions occurred after the mothers were sent away by their families due to the stigma associated with being pregnant and unmarried.

More than 250,000 white mothers lost their babies to forcible removal at birth by these past illegal adoption practices. Groups such as Adoption Loss Adult Support and Apology Alliance offer help and support.

Between 2010 and 2012 apologies were offered by Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered a national apology to those affected by forced adoptions in 2013.

"My birth father never knew I existed"

Here is the story of a member of the white stolen generation [48]:

Both my parents were given up to adoption, as was I. In my case my mother, at the time aged 16, was forced by her adoptive mother to give me up. She had no say in the matter and it's something that she had great difficulty dealing with for 42 years till the time that I tracked her down.

My birth father was never even told of my existence, and if not for a chance run-in with my mother ten years after my birth in Sydney would have never even known I existed. He was never asked for permission to give me up for adoption.

My birth mother's adoptive family went to great lengths to hide the fact that their teenage daughter was pregnant. They sent her off to Auckland, NZ, to give birth to me then give me up.

It wasn't until three years ago, when my birth father in Melbourne tracked me down, that I finally learnt the truth.

Stolen generations in other countries

Australia is not alone with its history of stolen children. Across the world are other countries with similar histories.

Argentina

A military coup in 1976 brought one of Argentina's "most brutal dictatorships" to power. The dictatorship took new-born babies away from their mothers during what is known as the "dirty war". It was uses as an instrument of war, social engineering or political revenge. [54]

Courts established later that the theft of babies was a systematic plan. When the Junta's hit squads abducted pregnant women they considered opponents to the regime, they imprisoned the women until they had given birth. Their babies were given to childless friends of the regime. Many mothers were then killed along with other prisoners.

Argentina's Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation trying to find the stolen children. Founded in 1977, by 2016 it had helped find 120 of the more than 500 children kidnapped.

China

Families who violate China's one-child policy face a constant threat of authorities illegally taking away their children.

Just like in Australia, some families say beatings and threats are used to force them into giving up their daughters. Others say they are tricked into signing away their parental rights [35].

Each town has a family-planning office, usually staffed by Communist Party cadres who have broad powers to order abortions and sterilisations. People who have additional babies can be fined up to 6 times their annual income.

Since the early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been adopted abroad, most going to families in the United States. Officials are motivated by thousands of dollars that adoptive parents pay orphanages [35].

Since 2003, if people can't pay their fines, officials would take away their babies.

An official's statement is strikingly similar to what Australian officials told parents: ''They're better off with their adoptive parents than their birth parents,'' says Wu Benhua, director of Zhenyuan's civil affairs bureau.

It's too late. Your daughter has already gone to America.-Response Zhou Changqi got whose six-month-old daughter was taken in 2002 by family-planning officials in Guiyang [35]

Germany

Before Germany united in 1989, the German Democratic Republic's intelligence service ("Stasi") took away children of parents who eyed the West or had attempted to flee the communist state. Deemed unfit to bring up their kids "for the purpose of socialism" parents sometimes spent "half a lifetime searching" for them [34].

An estimated 1,000 families were torn apart by the GDR authorities. Forced adoptions could hit anyone considered "suspect", for example, a mother staying home for her children-incompatible with socialist guidelines.

Hundreds of Germans are still searching for their children, parents or siblings [34].

Ireland & England

The film Philomena brought widespread attention to the unmarried Irish mothers forced to surrender their babies to the Catholic church.

Norway

Norway's Child Protection Service, known as Barnevernet, is removing children from parents it deems unfit for parenting, and places them into foster care. Some of the young mothers had been reported - falsely - as mentally 'ill' by their parents in order to claim welfare payments, and the service then uses this information against them. [50]

About 1,500 children a year are removed from their parents. Between 2008 and 2013, emergency removals increased by 70%. While most of these cases are for valid reasons, a "growing number" of parents claim they happen without cause. Parents are told they "lack parenting skills".

Research found that 20% of the removal system is not working well, says Einar Salvesen, a whistleblower who has previously worked as a consultant psychologist for Barnevernet.

Some families feel that racial intolerance is a "big part" of their experience. Other countries accused Barnevernet of stripping children of their cultural identity.

An organisation, The Change Factory, gives stolen children a voice by sharing their experiences and knowledge with policy makers.

Spain

It was revealed in 2011 that the theft of children, begun under Franco for ideological ends, had turned into a form of baby trafficking that continued into the 1990s, with the complicity of doctors and the church. [54]

Switzerland

From the early 1800s to the 1950s thousands of Swiss children who were orphaned, illegitimate or from impoverished families were sent to work on farms as cheap labour. Many children suffered abuse at the hands of their host families while authorities turned a blind eye.

The Foster Boy ("Der Verdingbub"), a 2011 movie and one of the most successful Swiss films between 2007 and 2013, deals with this shameful chapter in the history of a country that is so often seen in a positive light.

From 1926 to 1973, the Swiss government had a semi-official policy of institutionalising Yeniche parents and having their children adopted by more "normal" Swiss citizens, in an effort to eliminate Yeniche culture. About 590 children were taken from their parents and put into orphanages, mental institutions and even prisons. [51]

Children of the Open Road (1992), named after the government program, tracks these policies towards the Rom (gypsies).

Stolen Generations resources

Free Stolen Generations booklet

A must-read is the report by Peter Read, 'The Stolen Generations - The removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to 1969'.
Published in 1981 it was then a ground-breaking first attempt to document the devastating consequences of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report's chapters are: 2006: The return of the Stolen Generations, Introduction, A typical case, The laws regarding children, The number of children taken, Life in the homes, Employment, Fostering, Going home, The effects, Why did they do it?, Appendix.

The 34-page report comes with several black-and-white images and can be downloaded as a PDF file from the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Free Bringing Them Home DVD

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, a government body, published a DVD in 1997. The free DVD is based on the Bringing Them Home Report which was released on the 26th May that year.

The DVD is a 32-minute documentary, interviewing Aboriginal people of the Stolen Generations and showing historical footage. It is a must-see for all interested in learning more and listening to the stories of Aboriginal people who were stolen. But be warned: The content is sometimes heartbreaking.

The first DVD is free, any further copy is just AUD 5. To order your copy send an email or letter to:

Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission
Level 8, Piccadilly Tower
133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
www.humanrights.gov.au
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 02 9284 9672
Fax: 02 9284 9611

Watch movies about the Stolen Generations

A very good movie which tells the story of three young girls taken away from their family is Rabbit-Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia also treats the Stolen Generations as a central theme of the movie.

The documentary Lousy Little Sixpence was the first film to tell shocked Australians the story of five girls stolen from their families.

Some short films by Aboriginal directors discuss Stolen Generations, e.g. Back Seat by Pauline Whyman or Bloodlines by Jacob Nash.

Or try the award-winning documentary Why me? - Stories from the Stolen Generations by Rick Cavaggion.

The film Children of the Open Road (1992, original title Kinder der Landstrasse) presents striking parallels between the Stolen Generations and Swiss government policies towards the Rom (gypsies) in the first half of the 20th century.
More movies about Aboriginal people or by Aboriginal directors

I was crying for the kids. It brought back personal memories for us. I was like him. I was like them. I was taken away.-Dorothy Beto, stolen aged 7 years, reacting to the movie Australia which tells about the Stolen Generations [17]

Teacher resource: 2 ways to teach about the Stolen Generations

When members of the Stolen Generations tell their stories in schools students are often in tears. Some stories might be too harsh for them.

Some teachers have found softer ways of teaching [33] which still show the full emotional impact the policies had on people.

1. Role playing. Children role play, for example, "we're going to take you to live with us because we think it's better. How do you feel?"

2. Tearing drawings. Students make a drawing of their family at home and include valued items such as pets or computers. The teacher then tells the story of stolen children and, while walking around the room, tears away part of each student's drawing. A student could then talk about how they felt about their valuable work being ripped apart and how they would feel being ripped from their family.

Stolen Generations organisations

There are a few organisations helping Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations.

National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

The community-based National Sorry Day Committee was formed in 1998 after the Bringing Them Home report recommended that a National Sorry Day be held each year on 26 May "to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects."

The NDSC aims to achieve all 54 recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report, and its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal supporters work together with Stolen Generations members, Aboriginal communities, government, social justice and community organisations to achieve this goal.

Link-Up

Founded in 1980 and based in New South Wales, Link-Up helps members of the Stolen Generations to find their relatives. It also offers counselling to newly reunited families.

Link-Up has offices in almost every Australian state. In South Australia from 1999 to 2007 Link-Up arranged 160 family reunions and brought together 4,915 people.
List of Australian Link-Up services
Family Link

Family Link was established in 2009 to identify family and kin placements for Aboriginal children in foster care.

The service, funded by Link-Up, works with the Department of Community Services to place them with other family members when Aboriginal children cannot live safely with their parents.

While only 4% of NSW's children are Aboriginal they make up 31% of all placements.

Family Link
Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains, NSW 2779

Family Records Unit

The Family Records Unit helps Aboriginal people in NSW access records about themselves and their families, particularly members of the Stolen Generations.

The Unit is run by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which is the custodian of the records of the Aborigines Welfare Board.

Family Records Unit
NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs
Level 13, Tower B, Centennial Plaza
280 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Family Records Unit

Find and Connect

Find and Connect is a resource for the Forgotten Australians (all Australians who have been 'in care', including British Child Migrants and the Stolen Generations) who wish to find their history. It does not provide access to personal records, but helps individuals locate institutional records about them.

Find and Connect can help those of the Stolen Generations identify which institution(s) they received out-of-home 'care' in. For those wishing to find out more about their past it is then possible to find out where the institution's records are kept and how to access them.

Tip: Get free Stolen Generations postcards to send to your friends!

Quick overview

One of the darkest chapters of Australian history was the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Children as young as babies were stolen from their families to be placed in girls and boys homes, foster families or missions. At the age of 18 they were 'released' into white society, most scarred for life by their experiences.

These Aboriginal people are collectively referred to as the 'Stolen Generations' because several generations were affected.

Many Aboriginal people are still searching for their parents and siblings.

Watch this 8-minute video from Australian Screen that summarised the key points of the Stolen Generations:

I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives. -Jennifer, personal story in the Bringing Them Home Report

A guide to the Stolen Generations

Define 'Stolen Generations'

The term "Stolen Generations" is used for Aboriginal people forcefully taken away (stolen) from their families between the 1890s and 1970s, many to never to see their parents, siblings or relatives again. Because the period covers many decades we speak of "generations" (plural) rather than "generation".

Why were Aboriginal children stolen?

This is the most burning question for members of the Stolen Generations. In removing their children white people stole Aboriginal people's future. Language, tradition, knowledge, dances and spirituality could only live if passed on to their children. In breaking this circle of life white people hoped to end Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of "the Aboriginal problem".

In the early 20th century under the assimilation policy white Australians thought Aboriginal people would die out. In three generations, they thought, Aboriginal genes would have been 'bred out' when Aboriginal people had children with white people.

"It was a presumption for many years that we girls would grow up and marry nice white boys," says Aboriginal woman Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations [31]. "We would have nice fairer children who, if they were girls, would marry white boys again and eventually the colour would die out. That was the original plan - the whole removal policy was based on the women because the women could breed."

Adult Aboriginal people resisted efforts to be driven out of towns by simply coming back. But children taken away were much easier to control.

I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming.-Aunty Rhonda Collard, member of the Stolen Generations [10]

Aboriginal children who were taken away also fed the insatiable demand for station workers and domestic servants. Without these cheap, and often unpaid, labourers white Australians wouldn't have been able to build the wealth and infrastructure that helped them prosper. This is where the Stolen Generations and the stolen wages become one story.

Authorities also took children away pretending that Aboriginal parents would neglect them. There is evidence, however, that kids were malnourished or starving because Aboriginal people were not paid the full wages they were owed [7].

Which children were taken away?

Authorities targeted mainly children of mixed descent, i.e. what they called 'half-caste' Aboriginal children (caution, this is a derogative term!). It was thought these Aboriginal children could be assimilated more easily into white society.

During this time many children were not told that they were Aboriginal and discovered this much later in their lives. So-called 'A grade' babies were not obviously Aboriginal and were fostered out without telling their new parents their heritage. For 'B grade' babies, one could tell their Aboriginal heritage if knowing "what to look out for". [46]

Aboriginal author Sally Morgan wrote about her experiences in her book ' My Place '.

What happened to the stolen children?

Often babies were stolen at birth, and their mother given no chance of seeing them for the first time. They were called ' Blanket Babies ' because nurses covered them with a blanket to hide them from their mothers. [46]

The stolen children were raised on missions or by foster parents, totally cut off from their Aboriginality. They were severely punished when caught talking their Aboriginal language. Some children never learned anything traditional and received little or no education. Instead the girls were trained to be domestic servants, the boys to be stockmen.

Many of the stolen girls and boys were physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Many babies born to girls raped by white men were also taken away from them, sometimes as soon as they were born.

There is no black or white, we are both of those. I am black and I am white. We were the product of white men raping our traditional women. We were an embarrassment. No-one wanted us. They just wanted us out of the way. -Zita Wallace, taken aged eight years [8]

Boys and girls were brought into separate institutions which they (and some experts) would later compare with German concentration camps and the holocaust. Many tried to run away but few succeeded. Many never saw their parents again or were told they were orphans.

We were each handed a pair of pyjamas with a number Mr Borland, the manager, had given us earlier printed on the pocket, and a shirt and pair of shorts also. I was number 33. Not Bill. Not even Simon. Just number 33. -Bill Simon, taken away aged 10 [14]

The most infamous institutions are following. Be careful when you mention them to Aboriginal people, a lot of hurt and bad memories might come up.

Bomaderry Children's Home (United Aborigines Mission) operated from 24 May 1908 to 1981 (59 Beinda Street, Bomaderry).

Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Home (Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls), originally a hospital, operated from 1911 to 1969. About 1,200 girls were placed in Cootamundra during this time. It celebrated its centenary on 11 August 2012.

Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Home (Kinchela Training Institution) which moved to Kempsey in 1924. About 600 Aboriginal boys passed through Kinchela before it was closed in 1970. www.kinchelaboyshome.org.au

Mittagong Boys' Home

Kempsey

Parramatta Girls' Home which operated from 1887 until 1986. About 30,000 girls were locked up during that time. The home was also knows as the Industrial School for Girls, Girls Training School and Girls Training Home. Parragirls is a network of more than 350 women who lived in the home. Parramatta Girls is a play by Alana Valentine that is part of the HSC syllabus since 2010, contributing to the survivor's healing process.

Kahlin Compound, Darwin

The Bungalow, Alice Springs

Box Hill Boys Home, Melbourne

Many of those who were stolen established links with the area where they stayed for many years. After they left the institutions these people settled in the area.

However, the women and men also passed on the kinds of abuse they suffered to their own children (intergenerational trauma).

Sometimes at night we'd cry with hunger. We had to scrounge in the town dump, eating old bread, smashing tomato sauce bottles, licking them. - Bringing Them Home - Community Guide, children's experiences

Aerial photo of the former Cootamundra Girls Home. The property is near 39 Rinkin Street, Cootamundra, NSW 2590.

How many children were stolen?

That is not easy to answer. Few records of stolen children were kept, some were deliberately destroyed or just lost. Some administrations tried to tout their "successful assimilation" of Aboriginal people by deliberately understating Aboriginal numbers, thus distorting data.

Hence numbers can only be roughly estimated. It is estimated that between 1883 and 1969 more than 6,200 children were stolen in NSW alone [1][32].

A 1994 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people aged over 25 had been removed from their families in childhood [2], a figure which seems to be confirmed by research since the Bringing Them Home Report [3]. Australia-wide numbers are in the tens of thousands.

If you apply this proportion to the 2011 Census figures of the Aboriginal population you'll get around 14,700 Stolen Generations members for that year. Considering those with immediate family who had been removed, an additional 160,000 Aboriginal people are directly affected by the policies of the Stolen Generations. [52]

The [South Australian] government was unable to say how many Stolen Generation people live in the state. -Statement in a 2007 article about the first court-ordered compensation ruling [5]

When were the children stolen?

Towards the end of the 19th century authorities started to take children away without a legal framework. A framework was established in 1909 with the Aborigines Protection Act.

During the 1960s the child removal process slowed down but continued well into the 1970s. Some of the schools and missions who held the Stolen Generations did not close until the early 1980s (e.g. Bomaderry Children's Home in NSW [12]).

What were the effects on the stolen children?

The effects on the stolen children and their families were profound and are ongoing.

Aboriginal people suffer from many social and personal problems including mental illness, violence, alcoholism and welfare dependance, but there are many more issues members of the Stolen Generations suffer from.

Is there any official documentation of the Stolen Generations?

On 26 May 1997 the landmark Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament. The report was the result of a national inquiry that investigated the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report was a vital step in the healing journey of many Stolen Generations members. It was the first time their stories were acknowledged in public. It was also the first time it was formally reported that what governments did to these children was inhumane and the impact has been lifelong.

The full report is available at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

You can also watch the Commission's 30-minute documentary about the separation of Aboriginal children from their families.

More children are being taken today than during the Stolen Generations period

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in 1997 when the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament [49].

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in June 2016 [49].

Children continue to be taken from their families. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) has the authority to remove children from their families if they were "at risk of significant harm".

The injustices of the past must never, never happen again.-former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, in his apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008.

If you don't already know, the Stolen Generation scenario still applies today and has been here for a long time and will continue to be here.-Paul Ralph, CEO of KARI Aboriginal Resources Inc [28]

About 60 children are being taken away every month by child protection services, says Elder Djiniyini Gondarra, who represents 8,000 Yolngu people of east Arnhem Land [29]. "Children are being taken away from us at numbers not seen since the Stolen Generations."

Indeed, since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 the number of Aboriginal children in care has increased by 65% [44].

Aboriginal children are

almost 8 times more likely to be the subject of departmental intervention,

9 times more Aboriginal children are on care and protection orders [21], and

10 times more Aboriginal children are in out-of-home care than non-Aboriginal kids [39].

The current generation may one day grow up to say they, too, had been removed from their families.

In Victoria, only about 60% of Koorie children in care remained connected to their family and culture [37].

Fact In 2012, Olga Havnen, a senior Northern Territory government official, revealed that more than $80m was spent on the surveillance of families and the removal of children compared with just $500,000 on supporting the same impoverished families. Her warning of a second Stolen Generation led to her sacking. [41]

Why are they still taken away?

Intergenerational effects of separation from family and culture are partly to blame: parents stolen as kids are passing on this trauma to their own children.

But many government workers who decide about removing children seem to have difficulty telling neglect from poverty.

Larrakia elder Dr Christine Fejo-King was a consultant to the NT Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. She found neglect was the biggest reason why Aboriginal children were removed from their families, but the system was confusing the effects of absolute poverty with the concept of neglect. [53]

"There's a difference between absolute poverty which is often then equated to neglect as opposed to actual life-threatening situations for that child as a result of the people that they're living with in an unsafe place," she said.

Aboriginal children are mostly removed for 'neglect' or 'emotional abuse'. I have seen first hand how these judgements are made on a racist basis, or arise directly from the extreme poverty faced by families.-Padraic Gibson, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney [43]

Homework: Three generations fearing for their kids

Here is what Aboriginal mother Kelly Briggs said about her own fears, those of her mum and of her grandmother [40]:

"What happens if the small amount of work I have gained dries up [...]? What if money again becomes so tight that shoes, uniforms, excursions, lunches or transport [...] become issues that keep my kids from turning up at school on occasion? What exactly is the scope of these truancy officers? Do they give my kids lunch? Buy them uniforms? Will my name be added to some department of community services list somewhere? Will there be a mark upon my name that gives rise to visits from people who can remove my children from my care?

"I spoke honestly and frankly with my mother about my worries. She was amazed that this is still happening [...]. We spoke of her own mother's obsession with cleanliness, which sprang from her fear of the dreaded 'welfare man', a government employee who could come to your house and demand to be let inside to ensure your house was clean, that there was adequate food available, that the children were going to school.

"She then went on to tell me about her own fears when she was raising me and my siblings: the absolute terror she felt when she had to collect food vouchers of some nameless person swooping in to take us kids off her because she was facing hardship after my father passed away. The tremble in her voice as she recounted this broke my heart."

Why is Aunty Kelly fearing her kids can be taken away?

Find out how much Kelly has to pay for the items she has listed.

Find one word that represents the effect the women's worries had on their lives.

In which years were the women in Kelly's family worried about their children?

Research what rights the "welfare man" had, which government agency was allowed to take kids "facing hardship", and what can happen today if kids don't turn up at school.

With the background of Kelly's story above, explain what she said below.

Questions

In the back of my mind, I always hear the voice that says "don't ever let anyone know you're doing it tough, because they will take your kids from you".-Kelly Briggs, Aboriginal mother [40]

The new Stolen Generation is much larger

A Special Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Community Services found that in March 2008 there were 4,458 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care,4 times as many Aboriginal children as were in foster homes, institutions or missions in 1969, during the Stolen Generations [19]. 8% of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over were removed from their natural families in 2008 [22].
By 2014, almost 35% of all children in care were Aboriginal. But Aboriginal children were making up only 4.4% of Australia's total child population. [44]

From February 2001 to August 2007 the number of children reported to DoCS increased by 300% to 55,303 [18].

In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent 6.3% of the under-18s, yet in 2006 they made up over 25% of those in out-of-home care [26]. In 2011 in New South Wales, 33% of Aboriginal children and young people were in the care system, and the national figure was 36% [28].

In Western Australia, 46% of children in state care were Aboriginal in 2011, in regional areas "nearly 100%" were thought to be Aboriginal [24].

Filmmaker John Pilger investigates this new stolen generation in Utopia. "The theft is now higher than at any time in the last century," he found. In mid-1997 there were 2,785 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care across Australia. By mid-2012 there were 13,299 - almost a five-fold increase.

Pilger notes the NT government spent $80 million in one year removing children but just $500,000 supporting impoverished families. [38]

If you don't fix the underlying issues-unemployment, housing-that contribute to child protection, Aboriginal children will continue to be removed from their families. -Julie Tommy Walker, Aboriginal leader and Innawonga woman [24]

If Aboriginal children are put into foster care, they should at least be put into other Aboriginal families. These children's safety is "always grounded in their culture" [20] because they need to remain connected to the communities and be sure and strong in their cultural identity.

But in 2013, in the Northern Territory, about 66% of children are taken away from their culture and community. To no surprise, one-third of the Aboriginal children removed to non-Aboriginal homes have told the government they had lost all contact with family [36].

The madness of the past is still the cruelty of today.-Jeff McMullen, journalist [36]

Only one day a year

An Aboriginal Perth father can only see his two daughters for what equates to one day a year [23].

His two children have been removed from their mother's care by the Department of Child Protection (DCP) and placed with non-Aboriginal carers for 4 years.

The father lodged a complaint saying that the department failed to let the children know about their family and culture. He was only allowed to see his daughters one hour every fortnight which "equates to one day a year".

The man's mother was a member of the Stolen Generations. "[I ] saw my mother and all her siblings taken from my grandparents, and my grandparents taken from my great grandparents," he said.

Today's numbers of stolen children are so high that in January 2014 Aboriginal grandmothers from Gunnedah in northern NSW formed the group Grandmothers Against Removals in an effort to highlight the process of removal used by the New South Wales Department of Children's Services.

Was it legal to steal Aboriginal children?

With all the pain and trauma caused by the child removal policies one has to ask: Was this legal? Didn't these laws violate basic human rights?

These questions were put to Australia's High Court in 1997 when two members of the Stolen Generations sued the Commonwealth (Kruger vs Commonwealth). They argued that the laws breached basic fundamental human rights such as the right to due process before the law, equality before the law, freedom of movement and freedom of religion.

In a "dramatic demonstration of Australia's lack of rights protection" [27] the High Court held that none of these rights were protected. We are not talking Aboriginal rights here-we are talking human rights!

In other words, it was perfectly legal for Australia's government to forcibly remove Aboriginal children.

Australia's failure to protect basic human rights falls hardest on the poor, the marginalised and the socioeconomic disadvantaged. That is, they fall hardest on Aboriginal people, families and communities.

Stolen Generation reunions

Members of the Stolen Generations yearn most to reunite with their lost loved ones. Sometimes family members find each other just in time, sometimes just a short time too late. Services which help people reunite need more funding.

We didn't find our family until I was 11 or 12. -Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Aboriginal barrister [6]

Stolen Generation member dies only months after reunion

A 107-year-old member of the Stolen Generations died only months after she was finally reunited with members of her original people in Port Hedland, Western Australia [4]. Belinda Dann's life is a sad example of many other members of the Stolen Generations, many of whom died broken-hearted because they never saw their loved ones again.

Belinda was six years old when she was taken from her mother. Along with sisters she was taken to Beagle Bay mission in north-western Australia. When they asked for their mother they were told she would come which she never did. She married as a teenager and moved to Port Hedland. She remembered her Aboriginal name but did not know who she was and where she came from.

By coincidence one of Belinda's grandsons mentioned her Aboriginal name in a conversation with an Aboriginal girl who had heard of Belinda and was connected to her people. A 100-year-long search was over. Belinda met her people and, incredibly, started speaking in her native Aboriginal language again. Four months later she died.

We didn't know we were related. You find it out at 20 or 30, sitting in a pub drinking. -Richard Pittman, Stolen Generations member, taken aged four [11]

Re-union services need more funding

The main service members of the Stolen Generations can use to find loved ones is Link-Up (see below). But Link-Up needs more resources to work effectively [25]. Reunions take too long to be organised, and once they had been, they were far too short, or people were unable to afford return visits.

Some Aboriginal people feel like being "stolen again" when they are unable to revisit their newly found family [25].

Healing members of the Stolen Generations

The hibiscus flower is a symbol for the Stolen Generations. It was chosen because its lilac colour denotes spiritual healing and compassion and for the fact that it is widespread, grows everywhere and is a survivor [30]. Photo: butupa, Flickr

On 13 February 2009, one year after it apologised to the Stolen Generations, the Australian government promised to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.

The foundation is designed to deal with the "trauma experienced by all Aboriginal people as the after-effect of colonisation" [13], but with a particular focus on the Stolen Generations.

It won't deliver healing services, instead it funds healing work, educates communities and social workers and evaluates healing programs to find out what works.

According to Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist Dr Greg Phillips, healing is "a spiritual process that includes recovery from addiction, therapeutic change and cultural renewal" [13].

Healing is not just another government program. It has taken many generations to get to this level of trauma and it will take quite a few to fully recover from it. -Dr Greg Phillips, Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist from the Waanyi people [13]

Many members of the Stolen Generations attend annual reunions where they meet fellow Aboriginal people to share their stories and experiences they endured as children in the institutions where they were raised. The Link-Up service (see bottom of this page) often supplies funding for these reunions. For many this is the start of their journey of healing.

Denying history: 'Not stolen, but rescued'

A significant number of Australians disagreed with the apology delivered in February 2008 to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Here are their main arguments:

The Stolen Generations don't exist. Some people simply and flatly deny that children were stolen. They want to see 'proof' and claim no-one could 'find' them. For example, journalist Andrew Bolt claimed the Stolen Generations were "a giant intellectual fraud with unforgivable consequences" and "no one has yet produced a single child who was stolen under a government policy to remove children just because they were Aboriginal and not because they needed help." [45]

Aboriginal children were 'rescued'. Supporters claim that Aboriginal children were not stolen but 'rescued' from a family and community environment that was "rife with rape, incest, drug and/or alcohol abuse and insanitary living conditions" [9]. The Aboriginal children were 'given a chance'.

I've asked my granny if she thought she was rescued. She replied, "I didn't need rescuing from my mother's love."-Che Cockatoo-Collins [16]

'We did not do it'. People who refuse to apologise to the Stolen Generations feel that they or their ancestors had no part in what happened, hence shared no responsibility for the pain caused.

An apology leads to compensation claims. Many people fear that after the apology "a flood of compensation claims will be forthcoming" running to "millions of dollars" [9].

The "white stolen generations"

Did you know that in Australia there is another stolen generation, one which shares the pain and consequences? It's called the "white stolen generation" to distinguish it from the Aboriginal stolen generation.

In the five decades up to 1982, the newborn babies of young, single women were forcibly removed from them for adoption, a practice sometimes called 'baby farming'. Mothers were drugged, tethered to beds, not allowed to see their babies, told they were dead. [47] Many of these adoptions occurred after the mothers were sent away by their families due to the stigma associated with being pregnant and unmarried.

More than 250,000 white mothers lost their babies to forcible removal at birth by these past illegal adoption practices. Groups such as Adoption Loss Adult Support and Apology Alliance offer help and support.

Between 2010 and 2012 apologies were offered by Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered a national apology to those affected by forced adoptions in 2013.

"My birth father never knew I existed"

Here is the story of a member of the white stolen generation [48]:

Both my parents were given up to adoption, as was I. In my case my mother, at the time aged 16, was forced by her adoptive mother to give me up. She had no say in the matter and it's something that she had great difficulty dealing with for 42 years till the time that I tracked her down.

My birth father was never even told of my existence, and if not for a chance run-in with my mother ten years after my birth in Sydney would have never even known I existed. He was never asked for permission to give me up for adoption.

My birth mother's adoptive family went to great lengths to hide the fact that their teenage daughter was pregnant. They sent her off to Auckland, NZ, to give birth to me then give me up.

It wasn't until three years ago, when my birth father in Melbourne tracked me down, that I finally learnt the truth.

Stolen generations in other countries

Australia is not alone with its history of stolen children. Across the world are other countries with similar histories.

Argentina

A military coup in 1976 brought one of Argentina's "most brutal dictatorships" to power. The dictatorship took new-born babies away from their mothers during what is known as the "dirty war". It was uses as an instrument of war, social engineering or political revenge. [54]

Courts established later that the theft of babies was a systematic plan. When the Junta's hit squads abducted pregnant women they considered opponents to the regime, they imprisoned the women until they had given birth. Their babies were given to childless friends of the regime. Many mothers were then killed along with other prisoners.

Argentina's Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation trying to find the stolen children. Founded in 1977, by 2016 it had helped find 120 of the more than 500 children kidnapped.

China

Families who violate China's one-child policy face a constant threat of authorities illegally taking away their children.

Just like in Australia, some families say beatings and threats are used to force them into giving up their daughters. Others say they are tricked into signing away their parental rights [35].

Each town has a family-planning office, usually staffed by Communist Party cadres who have broad powers to order abortions and sterilisations. People who have additional babies can be fined up to 6 times their annual income.

Since the early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been adopted abroad, most going to families in the United States. Officials are motivated by thousands of dollars that adoptive parents pay orphanages [35].

Since 2003, if people can't pay their fines, officials would take away their babies.

An official's statement is strikingly similar to what Australian officials told parents: ''They're better off with their adoptive parents than their birth parents,'' says Wu Benhua, director of Zhenyuan's civil affairs bureau.

It's too late. Your daughter has already gone to America.-Response Zhou Changqi got whose six-month-old daughter was taken in 2002 by family-planning officials in Guiyang [35]

Germany

Before Germany united in 1989, the German Democratic Republic's intelligence service ("Stasi") took away children of parents who eyed the West or had attempted to flee the communist state. Deemed unfit to bring up their kids "for the purpose of socialism" parents sometimes spent "half a lifetime searching" for them [34].

An estimated 1,000 families were torn apart by the GDR authorities. Forced adoptions could hit anyone considered "suspect", for example, a mother staying home for her children-incompatible with socialist guidelines.

Hundreds of Germans are still searching for their children, parents or siblings [34].

Ireland & England

The film Philomena brought widespread attention to the unmarried Irish mothers forced to surrender their babies to the Catholic church.

Norway

Norway's Child Protection Service, known as Barnevernet, is removing children from parents it deems unfit for parenting, and places them into foster care. Some of the young mothers had been reported - falsely - as mentally 'ill' by their parents in order to claim welfare payments, and the service then uses this information against them. [50]

About 1,500 children a year are removed from their parents. Between 2008 and 2013, emergency removals increased by 70%. While most of these cases are for valid reasons, a "growing number" of parents claim they happen without cause. Parents are told they "lack parenting skills".

Research found that 20% of the removal system is not working well, says Einar Salvesen, a whistleblower who has previously worked as a consultant psychologist for Barnevernet.

Some families feel that racial intolerance is a "big part" of their experience. Other countries accused Barnevernet of stripping children of their cultural identity.

An organisation, The Change Factory, gives stolen children a voice by sharing their experiences and knowledge with policy makers.

Spain

It was revealed in 2011 that the theft of children, begun under Franco for ideological ends, had turned into a form of baby trafficking that continued into the 1990s, with the complicity of doctors and the church. [54]

Switzerland

From the early 1800s to the 1950s thousands of Swiss children who were orphaned, illegitimate or from impoverished families were sent to work on farms as cheap labour. Many children suffered abuse at the hands of their host families while authorities turned a blind eye.

The Foster Boy ("Der Verdingbub"), a 2011 movie and one of the most successful Swiss films between 2007 and 2013, deals with this shameful chapter in the history of a country that is so often seen in a positive light.

From 1926 to 1973, the Swiss government had a semi-official policy of institutionalising Yeniche parents and having their children adopted by more "normal" Swiss citizens, in an effort to eliminate Yeniche culture. About 590 children were taken from their parents and put into orphanages, mental institutions and even prisons. [51]

Children of the Open Road (1992), named after the government program, tracks these policies towards the Rom (gypsies).

Stolen Generations resources

Free Stolen Generations booklet

A must-read is the report by Peter Read, 'The Stolen Generations - The removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to 1969'.
Published in 1981 it was then a ground-breaking first attempt to document the devastating consequences of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report's chapters are: 2006: The return of the Stolen Generations, Introduction, A typical case, The laws regarding children, The number of children taken, Life in the homes, Employment, Fostering, Going home, The effects, Why did they do it?, Appendix.

The 34-page report comes with several black-and-white images and can be downloaded as a PDF file from the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Free Bringing Them Home DVD

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, a government body, published a DVD in 1997. The free DVD is based on the Bringing Them Home Report which was released on the 26th May that year.

The DVD is a 32-minute documentary, interviewing Aboriginal people of the Stolen Generations and showing historical footage. It is a must-see for all interested in learning more and listening to the stories of Aboriginal people who were stolen. But be warned: The content is sometimes heartbreaking.

The first DVD is free, any further copy is just AUD 5. To order your copy send an email or letter to:

Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission
Level 8, Piccadilly Tower
133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
www.humanrights.gov.au
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 02 9284 9672
Fax: 02 9284 9611

Watch movies about the Stolen Generations

A very good movie which tells the story of three young girls taken away from their family is Rabbit-Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia also treats the Stolen Generations as a central theme of the movie.

The documentary Lousy Little Sixpence was the first film to tell shocked Australians the story of five girls stolen from their families.

Some short films by Aboriginal directors discuss Stolen Generations, e.g. Back Seat by Pauline Whyman or Bloodlines by Jacob Nash.

Or try the award-winning documentary Why me? - Stories from the Stolen Generations by Rick Cavaggion.
More movies about Aboriginal people or by Aboriginal directors
The film Children of the Open Road (1992, original title Kinder der Landstrasse) presents striking parallels between the Stolen Generations and Swiss government policies towards the Rom (gypsies) in the first half of the 20th century.

I was crying for the kids. It brought back personal memories for us. I was like him. I was like them. I was taken away.-Dorothy Beto, stolen aged 7 years, reacting to the movie Australia which tells about the Stolen Generations [17]

Teacher resource: 2 ways to teach about the Stolen Generations

When members of the Stolen Generations tell their stories in schools students are often in tears. Some stories might be too harsh for them.

1. Role playing. Children role play, for example, "we're going to take you to live with us because we think it's better. How do you feel?"

2. Tearing drawings. Students make a drawing of their family at home and include valued items such as pets or computers. The teacher then tells the story of stolen children and, while walking around the room, tears away part of each student's drawing. A student could then talk about how they felt about their valuable work being ripped apart and how they would feel being ripped from their family.

Some teachers have found softer ways of teaching [33] which still show the full emotional impact the policies had on people.

Stolen Generations organisations

There are a few organisations helping Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations.

National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

The community-based National Sorry Day Committee was formed in 1998 after the Bringing Them Home report recommended that a National Sorry Day be held each year on 26 May "to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects."

The NDSC aims to achieve all 54 recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report, and its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal supporters work together with Stolen Generations members, Aboriginal communities, government, social justice and community organisations to achieve this goal.

Link-Up

Founded in 1980 and based in New South Wales, Link-Up helps members of the Stolen Generations to find their relatives. It also offers counselling to newly reunited families.
List of Australian Link-Up services
Link-Up has offices in almost every Australian state. In South Australia from 1999 to 2007 Link-Up arranged 160 family reunions and brought together 4,915 people.

Family Link

Family Link was established in 2009 to identify family and kin placements for Aboriginal children in foster care.

The service, funded by Link-Up, works with the Department of Community Services to place them with other family members when Aboriginal children cannot live safely with their parents.

While only 4% of NSW's children are Aboriginal they make up 31% of all placements.

Family Link
Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains, NSW 2779

Family Records Unit

The Family Records Unit helps Aboriginal people in NSW access records about themselves and their families, particularly members of the Stolen Generations.

The Unit is run by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which is the custodian of the records of the Aborigines Welfare Board.

Family Records Unit
NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs
Level 13, Tower B, Centennial Plaza
280 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Family Records Unit

Find and Connect

Find and Connect is a resource for the Forgotten Australians (all Australians who have been 'in care', including British Child Migrants and the Stolen Generations) who wish to find their history. It does not provide access to personal records, but helps individuals locate institutional records about them.

Find and Connect can help those of the Stolen Generations identify which institution(s) they received out-of-home 'care' in. For those wishing to find out more about their past it is then possible to find out where the institution's records are kept and how to access them.

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A guide to Australia's Stolen Generations

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Politics Read why Aboriginal children were stolen from their families, where they were taken and what happened to them. The horrific abuse they suffered in institutions and foster families left thousands traumatised for life. Close this Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

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Now China refuses to be dumping ground for the world’s waste, where on Earth will it all go?

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Now China refuses to be dumping ground for the world’s waste, where on Earth will it all go?

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In recent decades, China has been the world's largest importer of waste, accepting some 279 million metric tonnes of America's scrap alone over a quarter of a century, including paper and plastic for recycling, as well as mountains from Japan, countries in the European Union and from the developing world.

According to Greenpeace, China had become the dumping ground for more than half of the planet's scrap, at its peak importing almost 9 million tonnes of plastic trash annually. A paper, published last month in the journal Science Advances, says that China imported 106 million tonnes of plastic waste for recycling since 1992.

This year, however, China said, "No more!" So where should or could the planet's recyclable junk now go? Britain has looked to Southeast Asian nations, offloading more waste on Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in the first half of 2018 - but such countries have nowhere near the capacity for scrap as China.

Bloomberg Opinion columnists Faye Flam and Adam Minter met online recently to discuss the global recycling crisis - and to ask what, if anything, we can do about it.

Minter, an American, has covered the global recycling industry for more than a decade. As well as having produced a series of groundbreaking investigative pieces on China's recycling industries, he is author of the book Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Tra de (2013).

Also from the US, science journalist Flam has written for The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Science and other publications. She has a degree in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology.
Is there much that any single member of the bottle-rinsing public can do to resolve this recycling crisis?
Adam Minter: I think there are two misconceptions surrounding responsibility for the plastics and recycling crisis. The first is that it originates out of individual actions. In fact, less than 10 per cent of the waste generated in the US, Canada and the EU comes from households. Instead, it's further up the production chain - farms, factories, distribution points, retailers. So that means addressing the problem more systematically.

The second misconception is that developed countries are the source of the problem. A 2015 study points out that the vast majority of ocean plastics actually originate in developing countries without good waste-management systems, no trash pickups, informal landfills.

Faye Flam: I once interviewed a biologist who decided to start living plastic-free after studying birds on an island in the Pacific. She was cutting open these dead birds and finding hundreds of pieces of plastic. For some reason we seem to be very bad at disposing of our plastic trash properly. It should go in landfills if it's not recycled, but millions of tonnes end up in the ocean.
So people can drink from plastic soda bottles guilt-free?
Flam: It's good to know that industrial plastics contribute more to the whole, but we consumers still throw away a lot of plastic and many of us would like to do it in the least harmful possible way. There's a desire to help.

Minter: Faye makes a good point. Of the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle - I'd argue that the last one gets too much attention, and the first not enough. I think it's important to be realistic about the limits of recycling.
Can technology help solve this problem?
Minter: There's no question that technology has always played a role in recycling. It goes back to the first time somebody held a sword over a fire and turned it into a ploughshare. But technology has never driven recycling. Instead, it's the demand for raw materials - cheap raw materials - to make new stuff.

When China started importing foreign recyclables in the mid-1980s, it wasn't because they had any great new insight into how to process paper, metal or plastics. Rather, they were undergoing a manufacturing boom, and they needed cheap and easy-to-access raw materials to make it go. Recyclable metal is cheaper than virgin metal, and that's what they imported.

Then, rather than throwing new technology at the problem, they threw millions of labourers at it. As a result, recycling rates around the developed world skyrocketed as the price of recyclables rose. So the challenge now is creating new markets to replace the ones that are fading away.

Technology might help that cause. But simply relocating or expanding older technologies in places where recycling is generated, like the US, is something that can happen now - assuming somebody sees the financial incentive to do it.

Flam: That is interesting, but as the cost of labour goes up in China, who will take up the slack and sort through our mountains of plastic trash? Are there other countries who will be able to profit from recycling it?

Minter: There's no single country that can replace China's recycling capacity. But over the last six years, we've seen material relocating to Southeast Asia. Manufacturers have followed. Long-term, India's manufacturing industries will also become major importers.

One additional point on this: a recent study says 111 million metric tonnes of plastic recyclables will be discarded [globally] over the next decade. The number could be even higher. But it's not as if that material will be openly dumped. There's more than adequate landfill and incinerator capacity in the US to ensure it doesn't end up in the oceans. The calculus now must be: does it make more sense, environmentally and financially, to build up recycling capacity in the US? And I think that's where technology might provide some answers. But first, we'll want to see the demand for those goods.

Flam: One of the challenges the chemists tell me we face is the great variety of plastics. They can't be recycled together, but there are chemical tricks that could make them compatible so that recyclers of the future could skip all that sorting that now requires human labour.

Minter: Do you have any sense about the quality of the plastics that would come out of those processes? Would they be as good as virgin plastics?

Flam: It would likely be about the same as recycled plastic now. It's not good enough to make into new bottles or containers. That's where other chemists and chemical engineers are making progress. Current recycled plastic is really "down-cycled" into lawn chairs and the like, but people have invented plastics that could be made into the same bottles or containers hundreds of times.

Minter: That would be a game-changer. Do we have any sense of what kind of environmental impact those chemical processes would have? One problem regulators are facing is that some recycling is more environmentally harmful than the process of manufacturing new. I wonder if this solves that.

Flam: It depends on people's priorities and perhaps on changes in regulation. Back in the 1980s, scientists had realised that a very important class of chemicals was destroying the ozone layer. Finding substitutes looked hard, but it happened once there was an international treaty.
Speaking of which - is there an analogy here with climate change? In that case people who cared about it pressured public officials to take action, such as joining international agreements. What is the equivalent for people who care about recycling?
Minter: Multiple studies show that improving waste collections in developing countries are the best way to reduce ocean plastics. There's a small but growing movement, started by a group called WasteAid UK, to push international aid agencies to devote three per cent of their budgets to waste management (currently, they devote about 0.3 per cent). I think that's worth lobbying for.

Flam: Scientists tell me they need public support to do the research necessary to improve energy efficiency, develop alternatives, capture carbon from the atmosphere and ultimately develop plastic that can either be recycled indefinitely or will safely degrade.

I was in Haiti a year or so after the earthquake, and was struck by the mountains of plastic trash. But a big portion of it consisted of water bottles, which were important for getting clean drinking water to people, and probably for saving a lot of lives. The key was finding a way to motivate people to collect the waste, so it could be profitably recycled or safely disposed of. So they started a programme to pay the local residents to collect plastic for recycling.
You both seem to be giving the developed world a pass here.
Minter: Not at all! But if we're going to focus on where the ocean plastics problem can be addressed most effectively and efficiently, it has to start in the developing world.

Flam: I think supporting research is good. Supporting better disposal infrastructure in places like Haiti also makes a difference. There are probably ways to better organise things in places where plastics are going into the oceans. And it can't hurt for people to take the extra step of checking the Web to see what your local communities accept. As Adam mentioned, there are projections that the world will throw away as much plastic in the next 11 years as we've discarded since 1950. So if we think we have a problem now, it's only going to get worse.

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now china refuses to be dumping ground for the world’s waste

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China is refusing the world's waste, so where on Earth will it all go?

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In recent decades, China has been the world's largest importer of waste, accepting some 279 million metric tonnes of America's scrap alone over a quarter of a century, including paper and plastic for recycling, as well as mountains from Japan, countries in the European Union and from the developing world.

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Beyond GDP: are there better indicators of wellbeing? 

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Beyond GDP: are there better indicators of wellbeing? 

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Alternatives to GDP are already in use, but are yet to gain widespread acceptance. Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com

"At present, we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it GDP." - Paul Hawken

Imagine if a corporation used Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounting to do its books: it would be adding all its income and expenses together to get a final number. Nobody would think that's a very good indication of how well that business was doing. Herman Daly, a former senior economist at the World Bank, said that, "the current national accounting system treats the earth as a business in liquidation." He also noted that we are now in a period of "uneconomic growth"; where GDP is growing but societal welfare is not.

The good news is that there are several alternatives to GDP being actively developed, discussed, and used. One of these is the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI).

GPI starts with personal consumption expenditures - a major component of GDP - and adjusts it using 25 components. These adjustments include incorporating the negative effects of income inequality on welfare; adding positive elements not considered in GDP, such as the benefits of household work, volunteer work, and higher education; and subtracting environmental costs and social costs like the costs of crime, unemployment, and pollution. In doing so, it paints a more accurate picture of how far we've come over the last three decades.

Regional level

In the United States, the states of Maryland and Vermont officially report their GPI annually. In 2010, Maryland was the first state to officially adopt the GPI as an alternative to GDP. The state's goal was "to measure whether or not economic progress results in sustainable prosperity".

Since its beginning, Maryland governor Martin O'Malley has actively implemented policies to encourage the increase of GPI. The media has also taken up the challenge of shedding light on the true picture of societal welfare, with media coverage now regularly reporting on changes in GPI.

In 2012, the state of Vermont passed legislation mandating the calculation of GPI. Since then, GPI has been estimated for other states including Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Utah, while ten others have expressed interest in developing their own studies.

This movement towards GPI is part of an international trend, and GPI has been calculated in around 20 countries worldwide. The international research community has begun to develop what is being called "GPI 2.0". GPI 2.0 seeks to improve standardization and robustness of the current GPI.

National level

GPI is not the only new measure of societal welfare being adopted around the world. The Kingdom of Bhutan began using Gross National Happiness (GNH) as an alternative to GDP in 1972 after fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, stated that "Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product."

GNH is estimated using a survey that takes approximately seven hours per person. In 2013, it was taken by more than 10% of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese government also established the GNH Commission to assess all new policies for their impact on the "happiness" or well-being of the population.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also began moving in this direction with the Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) initiative. MAP was established to address the question, "Is life in Australia getting better?" MAP provides Australians with 26 indicators related to society, economy, environment, and governance. Unlike the GPI, it does not aggregate the indicators into one overall measure, but allows viewers to make their own assessment regarding the well-being of the Australian population based on the individual indicators. However, funding was discontinued for MAP in early 2014.

Global effort

Currently, no global consensus exists regarding alternatives to GDP. However, there is growing agreement that the continued use of GDP as a proxy for overall well-being is not appropriate. A range of national indicators exist and are being used around the world

The Millennium Development Goals, which are ending in 2015, look primarily at health, poverty, and education. To replace them, a UN-led initiative has developed a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These new goals have a broader agenda that includes the environment, inequality, and sustainable and equitable economic growth, amongst other aspects.

Although metrics are being developed for each of the 17 goals and their sub-goals, as of yet, no overall indicator has been developed to assess the overall success of the SDGs.

Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country's GDP measures "everything except that which makes life worthwhile". The only way to dethrone GDP from its current role, is to start measuring all those things that do "make life worthwhile".
This article is part of an ongoing series, Beyond GDP, which looks at the dominance of GDP in economic thinking and how that might change. Read more here

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Beyond GDP: are there better ways to measure well-being?

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"At present, we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it GDP." - Paul Hawken Imagine if a corporation used Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounting to do its books: it would be adding all its income and expenses together to get a final number.

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With quizs