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Aborigines want apology over stolen children
By James Grubel
Thu Aug 2, 3:59 AM ET

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's Aborigines renewed calls for official recognition of past injustices on Thursday after a court awarded an Aboriginal man A$525,000 ($446,000) for being taken from his family 50 years ago. In Wednesday's landmark ruling, a court in the state of South Australia awarded Bruce Trevorrow the money in compensation and damages for being taken from his mother as a baby and given to a white foster parent without their consent.

Reconciliation Australia, set up to help promote better relations between Aborigines and white Australians, said the case highlighted the need for proper recognition and compensation for the victims of the so-called stolen generation of Aborigines.

"It is preferable, both morally and financially, to face up to mistakes as a nation rather than watching from the sidelines as they're tossed around in costly, adversarial court proceedings," Reconciliation Australia chief executive Barbara Livesey said on Thursday.

A major government report in 1997 detailed the suffering of the "stolen generation," who were taken from their families to be brought up in white homes under old assimilation policies which ran until the late 1960s.

The report, titled Bringing Them Home, recommended compensation to those removed from their families, and an official government apology for the past injustices.

But Australia's conservative government has steadfastly refused to officially apologize for the policies of previous governments. Only the island state of Tasmania has set up a fund to compensate stolen generation members.

Trevorrow, now 50, was separated from his mother at 13 months old and did not see her again for a decade.

He is the first Aboriginal person to win compensation from a court for being taken, and his case is being seen as a breakthrough for others seeking compensation.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough ruled out a national compensation scheme on Thursday, saying the issue was one for state governments and church groups which operated the policies.

"My understanding is that the majority of the cases, if not all of the cases, revolved around states as well as church organizations," Brough told reporters.

Prime Minister John Howard, who has focused on practical measures to help Aboriginal disadvantage rather than symbolic measures such as an apology for past policies, said he was seeking advice on the Trevorrow judgment.

But the minor Australian Greens party said the court ruling had increased the pressure on Howard to take a lead on amends.

"The prime minister needs to be a part of this by apologizing to the stolen generation and setting up a national compensation scheme," Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said.