'Between Knowing and Not Knowing': Public Knowledge of the Stolen
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STOLEN GENERATIONS’ REPORT by RON BRUNTON
BETRAYING Backgrounder THE VICTIMS THE ‘STOLEN GENERATIONS’ REPORT by RON BRUNTON The seriousness of the ‘stolen generations’ issue should not be underestimated, and Aborigines are fully entitled to demand an acknowledgement of the wrongs that many of them suffered at the hands of various authorities. But both those who were wronged and the nation as a whole are also entitled to an honest and rigorous assessment of the past. This should have been the task of the ‘stolen generations’ inquiry. Unfortunately, however, the Inquiry’s report, Bringing Them Home, is one of the most intellectually and morally irresponsible official documents produced in recent years. In this Backgrounder, Ron Brunton carefully examines a number of matters covered by the report, such as the representativeness of the cases it discussed, its comparison of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal child removals, and its claim that the removal of Aboriginal children constituted ‘genocide’. He shows how the report is fatally compromised by serious failings. Amongst many others, these failings include omitting crucial evidence, misrepresenting important sources, making assertions that are factually wrong or highly questionable, applying contradictory principles at different times so as to make the worst possible case against Australia, and confusing different circumstances under which removals occurred in order to give the impression that nearly all separations were ‘forced’. February 1998, Vol. 10/1, rrp $10.00 BETRAYING THE VICTIMS: THE ‘STOLEN GENERATIONS’ REPORT bitterness that other Australians need to comprehend INTRODUCTION and overcome. A proper recognition of the injustices that Aborigi- nes suffered is not just a matter of creating opportuni- ties for reparations, despite the emphasis that the Bring- The Inquiry and its background ing Them Home report places on monetary compensa- Bringing Them Home, the report of the National Inquiry tion (for example, pages 302–313; Recommendations into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Is- 14–20). -
Tatz MIC Castan Essay Dec 2011
Indigenous Human Rights and History: occasional papers Series Editors: Lynette Russell, Melissa Castan The editors welcome written submissions writing on issues of Indigenous human rights and history. Please send enquiries including an abstract to arts- [email protected]. ISBN 978-0-9872391-0-5 Genocide in Australia: By Accident or Design? Colin Tatz © Indigenous Human Rights and History Vol 1(1). The essays in this series are fully refereed. Editorial committee: John Bradley, Melissa Castan, Stephen Gray, Zane Ma Rhea and Lynette Russell. Genocide in Australia: By Accident or Design? Colin Tatz © Colin Tatz 1 CONTENTS Editor’s Acknowledgements …… 3 Editor’s introduction …… 4 The Context …… 11 Australia and the Genocide Convention …… 12 Perceptions of the Victims …… 18 Killing Members of the Group …… 22 Protection by Segregation …… 29 Forcible Child Removals — the Stolen Generations …… 36 The Politics of Amnesia — Denialism …… 44 The Politics of Apology — Admissions, Regrets and Law Suits …… 53 Eyewitness Accounts — the Killings …… 58 Eyewitness Accounts — the Child Removals …… 68 Moving On, Moving From …… 76 References …… 84 Appendix — Some Known Massacre Sites and Dates …… 100 2 Acknowledgements The Editors would like to thank Dr Stephen Gray, Associate Professor John Bradley and Dr Zane Ma Rhea for their feedback on earlier versions of this essay. Myles Russell-Cook created the design layout and desk-top publishing. Financial assistance was generously provided by the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and the School of Journalism, Australian and Indigenous Studies. 3 Editor’s introduction This essay is the first in a new series of scholarly discussion papers published jointly by the Monash Indigenous Centre and the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. -
FIGHTING OVER COUNTRY: Anthropological Perspectives
FIGHTING OVER COUNTRY: Anthropological Perspectives Edited by D.E. Smith and J. Finlayson Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research The Australian National University, Canberra Research Monograph No. 12 1997 First published in Australia 1997. Printed by Instant Colour Press, Canberra, Australia. © Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University. This book is copyright Apart from any fair dealings for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be directed to the publisher, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. National Library of Australia. Cataloguing-in-publication entry. Fighting over country: anthropological perspectives ISBN 07315 2561 2. 1. Aborigines, Australian - Land tenure. 2. Native title - Australia. 3. Torres Strait Islanders - Land tenure. 4. Land use - Australia. I. Finlayson, Julie, n. Smith, Diane (Diane Evelyn). ID. The Australian National University. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. (Series: Research monograph (The Australian National University. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research); no. 12). 306.320899915 Acknowledgments A number of people assisted in the organisation and conduct of the workshop Fighting Over Country: Anthropological Perspectives held in Canberra in late September 1996. The workshop was the latest in a series sponsored by the Australian Anthropological Society focusing on land rights and native title issues. Diane Smith, Julie Finlayson, Francesca Merlan, Mary Edmunds and David Trigger formed the organising committee, and ongoing administrative support was provided by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR). The Native Titles Research Unit of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) provided modest but very helpful financial assistance towards catering for the workshop. -
IPA REVIEW ESTABLISHED in 1947 by CHARLES KEMP, FOUNDING DIRECTOR of the INSTITUTE of PUBLIC AFFAIRS Vol
IPA REVIEW ESTABLISHED IN 1947 BY CHARLES KEMP, FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS Vol. 45 No. 4,1992 Business Must Defend Itself 6 Australia, Vanuatu and the British Connection 48 Richard Craig Mark Uhlmann The current campaign against foreign-owned The view that Australia has been the pawn of British companies in Australia is misguided. foreign policy in the South Pacific is false. Bounties or Tariffs, Someone Pays 12 Millennium: Getting Tribal Rites Wrong 51 Bert Kelly Ron Brunton The cost of protection — whatever its form — must A lavish production, with a vacuous message. be borne by somebody. Menzies and the Middle Class 53 The New Constitutionalism 13 C.D. Kemp Kenneth Minogue Menzies embodied the best and the worst of his Changing constitutions is a fashionable, but `forgotten people. unreliable way of achieving political objectives. Catholicisms Condition 56 The Constitution and its Confused Critics 15 T.C. de Lacey S.E.K Hulme All is not well in the Catholic Church, but Paul Calls to update The Constitution are ill-informed. Collinss `remedies would only make things worse. Blowing the Police Whistle 20 Eric Home Whistleblowers need legislative protection. Genesis Revisited 26 From the Editor Brian J. OBrien Revolution and restraint in capitalism. In the beginning the earth was formless — then there were forms in triplicate. Moore Economics 4 Des Moore Reforming Public Sector Enterprises 30 How Victoria found itself in such a mess. Bill Scales Why its urgent and how to approach it. IPA Indicators 8 Social class figures hardly at all in Australians Delivery Postponed ^" J 34 definition of themselves. -
Black and White Children in Welfare in New South Wales and Tasmania, 1880-1940
‘Such a Longing’ Black and white children in welfare in New South Wales and Tasmania, 1880-1940 Naomi Parry PhD August 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Parry First name: Naomi Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: History Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences Title: ‘Such a longing’: Black and white children in welfare in New South Wales and Tasmania, 1880-1940 Abstract 350 words maximum: When the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission tabled Bringing them home, its report into the separation of indigenous children from their families, it was criticised for failing to consider Indigenous child welfare within the context of contemporary standards. Non-Indigenous people who had experienced out-of-home care also questioned why their stories were not recognised. This thesis addresses those concerns, examining the origins and history of the welfare systems of NSW and Tasmania between 1880 and 1940. Tasmania, which had no specific policies on race or Indigenous children, provides fruitful ground for comparison with NSW, which had separate welfare systems for children defined as Indigenous and non-Indigenous. This thesis draws on the records of these systems to examine the gaps between ideology and policy and practice. The development of welfare systems was uneven, but there are clear trends. In the years 1880 to 1940 non-Indigenous welfare systems placed their faith in boarding-out (fostering) as the most humane method of caring for neglected and destitute children, although institutions and juvenile apprenticeship were never supplanted by fostering. Concepts of child welfare shifted from charity to welfare; that is, from simple removal to social interventions that would assist children's reform. -
Contents 183
contents 183 Appendices 1. ABC Television Program Analysis 184 2. ABC Radio Networks Content Analysis 186 3. ABC Organisation, as at 30 June 2007 187 4. ABC Board and Board Committees 188 5. ABC Audit and Risk Committee 189 6. ABC Commercial Tax Equivalent Calculation 190 7. Consultants 191 8. Overseas Travel Costs 192 9. Reports Required Under s80 of the ABC Act 192 10. Other Required Reports 192 11. Advertising and Market Research 193 12. Occupational Health and Safety 193 13. Commonwealth Disability Strategy 196 14. Performance Pay 198 15. Staff Profile 198 16. Ecologically Sustainable Development and Environmental Performance 199 17. ABC Advisory Council 199 18. Independent Complaints Review Panel 202 19. Freedom of Information 203 20. ABC Code of Practice 2007 203 21. Performance Against Service Commitment 209 22. ABC Awards 2006–07 210 23. ABC Television Transmission Frequencies 215 APPENDICES 24. ABC Radio Transmission Frequencies 221 25. Radio Australia Frequencies 227 06–07 26. ABC Offices 228 27. ABC Shops 233 ANNUAL REPORT 20 184 Appendices for the year ended 30 June 2007 Appendix 1—ABC Television Program Analysis ABC Television Main Channel Program Hours Transmitted—24 hours Australian Overseas Total First Total First Total 2006 2005 Release Repeat Australian Release Repeat Overseas –07 –06 Arts and Culture 98 112 209 67 40 107 316 254 Children’s 76 432 508 352 1 080 1 432 1 941 2 033 Comedy 1 20 21 33 85 118 139 149 Current Affairs 807 287 1 094 0 1 1 1 095 895 Documentary 57 120 177 213 198 411 588 476 Drama 7 40 46 370 -
“Secret Women's Business”: Indigenous Rights
“SECRET WOMEN’S BUSINESS”: INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND THE HINDMARSH ISLAND BRIDGE CONTROVERSY 1 What makes something a secret? What is worth keeping secret? Should secrets be revealed? 2 The Setting for a Dispute Goolwa, South Australia, & Hindmarsh Island 3 4 the area “is crucial for the reproduction of the Ngarrindjeri people and the cosmos which supports their existence. The waters are a life force to the Ngarrindjeri women, whether past or present, and should anything cover these waters, then the strength there will be taken from the Ngarrindjeri women and they will become very ill”. Native Title Aboriginality, gender, secrecy, the judicial system, colonial history, economic development, cultural conflict—anthropology 5 Secret Women’s Business opposing Aboriginal views The Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission Prime Minister John Howard, the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Act (1997), bridge completed in March of 2001. Dr. Deane Fergie, anthropologist at the University of Adelaide 6 Confidential: to be read by women only Rod Lucas Neil Draper 7 The Roots of Aboriginal Dissent Aboriginal women who claimed that secret women’s business was a hoax ignorant of the origins and nature of Ngarrindjeri beliefs knowledge selectively distributed within a community “no point in reliving the past” Christian converts Anthropologists at War over the Truth male anthropologists ethics a feminist agenda? 8 Anthropology and the Culture Wars 2010, Government of South Australia: “secret women’s business” was real and authentic. Tom Trevorrow: “We may use the bridge to access our land and waters but culturally and morally we cannot come to terms with this bridge”. 9 Australia’s culture wars political correctness run amok “the willingness of white people to believe the Aboriginal women, marked the high-water mark of politically correct soft-headedness and sentimentality” (Simons, 2003) Ron Brunton and Roger Sandall Roger Sandall: The Culture Cult “designer tribalism” & “romantic primitivism” fantasies held by “spoiled white urbanites”. -
Some Australian Literary and Historical Adaptations for the Stage
Windshuttling The Right: Some Australian Literary and Historical Adaptations for the Stage HELEN THOMSON, MELBOURNE For the purposes of this discussion I am going to take liberties with the idea of “adaptation” and extend it beyond the primary meaning of a literary work rewrit- ten for presentation in a different medium, to suggest that we might also consider sources for dramatic adaptation other than the purely literary. I want to extend it to include “cultural narratives,” stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and that ultimately contribute to our sense of belonging to a nation. Many of these narra- tives are of course expressed in literary form. But there are adaptations of stories that differ according to the tellers, or to the cultural group to which the teller belongs. In Australia the most dramatic disjunction between versions of a na- tional story is that between white and black narratives of shared, post-contact history. There are various mediums of expression for these stories, and the plays that represent adaptations draw upon several of these sources. They are, in the main, to be found in anthropological accounts of Aboriginal society; in histories, writ- ten mainly by academics; and in a series of significant official reports, documents such as Sir Ronald Wilson and Mick Dodson’s Bringing Them Home, the report for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and the report of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody. There are of course count- less other documents that are cited in secondary accounts by various historians. These are white narratives; I will return to black ones in due course. -
Annual Report 2004-2005
in any place at any time in any situation Annual Report2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC services of all Australians via reached an estimated75% television, radio and online There are now 1.7 million pages of information rich ABC Online content at www.abc.net.au ABC radio weekly metropolitan audience reach 3.766 millionor 34% ABC weekly metropolitan reach of TV8.8 million or 64.2% and weekly regional reach of 3.9 million or 62.6% ABC Online reaches 14.4% of Australia’s active Internet population 90% of Australians continue to believe the ABC provides a valuable service to the community. 1 New Australian-made TV programs launched include Spicks and Specks, Talking Heads, How The Quest Was Won, Beat The Chef, Collectors, Second Opinion, Blue Water High and Outback House We launched digital radio services digJAZZ and digCOUNTRY Radio Australia now available via 200 local re-broadcasters in 40 countries, shortwave broadcasts, satellite services and a 24-hour FM network ABC2 was launched... the ABC’s second free-to-air digital television channel ABC Asia Pacific television is seen in 39 countries, retransmitted by 155 pay-TV operators, in more than 200 000 hotel rooms and available in 9 million homes ABC produced 4 476 hours of Australian television content, including more than 2 221 hours of news and current affairs 40 ABC Shops and 79 ABC Centres through out Australia and online generated $10.6 million net profit which was returned to programming last year ABC had total revenues of $959m from ordinary activities with $1.026 billion in total assets 2 abc any time | any place reaches australians radio television online shops international broadcasting 3 Annual Report 2004–05 Radio The ABC has four national radio networks —Radio National, ABC Classic FM, triple j and ABC NewsRadio—as well as 60 Local Radio stations around Australia, and three Internet music-based services, dig, digJAZZ and digCOUNTRY. -
Just Passing Through
1 JUST PASSING THROUGH 1. INTRODUCTION I was born in Estonia. Leaving there as a teenager ahead of the second Soviet occupation of that country in September 1944, I became a refugee in Germany. Immigrating to Australia in 1949 and becoming a citizen, most of my working life was then spent in the minerals industry until retirement in 1999. Some of my friends, no doubt conscious of the relentless passage of time, have urged me to record my recollections. They have been mostly too gentle to add “before it is too late”. I had been doing this in considerable detail, including my family history going back just over 300 years and the events in Western Mining Corporation during the 25 years I was the Chairman. The complete record is too detailed to be of general interest and I have therefore prepared this selection of topics which, while omitting many episodes and only just touching on others, deals with many of the happenings in my life and includes reflections on a number of issues. It is not for publication, but a private document for a limited circle of family and friends. The initial manuscript was concluded in September 2005. Amended and updated on several occasions, it was finalised in January 2008. When considering past events, we must remember that the world then was different from today‟s. Even in my lifetime both the physical conditions of life – travel, communications, living standards generally – and people‟s attitudes, perceptions and values have gone through a great change. Going further back the changes are greater still. -
IPA REVIEW ESTABLISHED in 1947 by CHARLES KEMP, FOUNDING DIRECTOR of the INN1TFUTE OP PUBLIC AFFAIRS Vol
IPA REVIEW ESTABLISHED IN 1947 BY CHARLES KEMP, FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE INN1TFUTE OP PUBLIC AFFAIRS Vol. 46 No. 4, 1994 Low Turnout Undermines ATSIC 8 Asia Pacific in an Era of Trade Blocs 58 Ron Brunton Derek Parker ATSIC cannot claim to represent the majority of ASEAN provides a more promising path for Aborigines. Australia than APEC. Time to Raise Parliamentary Standards 12 How Capitalism Converted the Pope 60 Anthony D. Smith T.C. De Lacey Last year Mr Keating Catholics can go about their business in good faith. guillotined debate on 80 per cent of legislation. Republican Cause Falters 15 Peter Reith — Letters 2 The Turnbull Committee avoided the hard questions. IPA Indicators 4 Shifting the Blame 17 The tax system is biased against families. Rudolf Plehwe From the Editor 6 What has become of ministerial responsibility? Rescuing shipwrecked youth. Shear Determination [^- 20 R• f• Around the States 10 Graeme Haycroft Mike Nahan After a long battle, reform An accolade for Tasmania; has reached Queenslands a lemon for the Commonwealth. shearing sheds. Letter from America 23 The Crisis of the Welfare State 27 Harry Gelber Michael Novak In foreign affairs, the US lacks direction. The welfare state is corrupting and diminishing us. Moore Economics 25 How to Reform Australias Des Moore Social Security System 32 Economic rationalists are misunderstood. Michael James Alternatives to state welfare. Strange Times 36 Ken Baker Playing with Fire 38 A whole new meaning for occupational training. Nathan Stirling Overseas programs provide hope for Australias Down to Earth 54 street kids. Ron Brunton Aboriginal policy is on a separatist slide. -
Inside This Issue Volume 49 • Number 3 • March 1997
Inside this Issue Volume 49 • Number 3 • March 1997 ARTICLES REGULAR FEATURES The Future of Hong Kong Editorial 21 Can Hong Kong Remain Free?—Scenarios for 1997 Welcome aboard the new look IPA Review! Democracy and traditional political liberty might not be retained; but outright mainland dictatorship is also unlikely.A middle way 2 Savings and Budget Honesty based on pragmatic considerations, may well be the best hope The Commonwealths increasing dependence upon income for Hong Kong after the handover David Armstrong taxes—including the taxation on private savings—gives a misleading picture of the Commonwealths Budget performance 25 The Economic Implications of the Take-over Geoff CarmodylAccess Economics Natural assets aside, Hong Kongs economic success has depended upon its open markets and the security of property 3 What does it Mean to be Indigenous—and does it and contract under the rule of law. If these are seriously Matter? threatened, then the outlook is doubtful Alan Oxley It might seem simple and obvious, but drawing the line between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples is not always straightfor- 28 China—How Stable is the Monolith? ward_Whats more, applying the distinctions creates problems of Internal regional tensions, the presence of Taiwan and the its own Kenneth Maddock spillover effects of taking back Hong Kong may yet prove a headache for Beijing Michael OConnor 5 Howards Way A year since the Federal election, its time for an assessment of John Howards Coalition government John Hyde 29 Renovating Civil Society Between the State and its citizens lies a tier of intermediate 7 New Zealands Reforms: The Next Stage institutions—mostly small-scale and voluntary in nature.