Reconciliation and Social Justice Library

Other Perspectives of this discredited report.

Bringing them Home - The Report

Preliminary Pages

• Dedication
• Full Contents Page
• Copyright Notice
• Terms of Reference
• Download the report in RTF format

Part 1 Introduction

• Chapter 1 The Inquiry
• The Inquiry
• Scope of the Inquiry
  • Tracing the history
  • The effects
  • Post-school qualifications for adults 20 years and above
  • Employment status of adults 20 years and above
  • Personal income for adults 20 years and above
  • Self-assessed health status of those 20 years and above
  • Services and procedures available
  • Principles justifying compensation
  • Current placement and care
• The Inquiry process
  • Testimony
  • Implementation of the recommendations

Part 2 Tracing the History

• Chapter 2 National Overview
• 2 National Overview
  • Colonisation
  • Protection and segregation of Indigenous people in the nineteenth century
  • Merging and absorption
  • Merging becomes assimilation
  • Removal of Indigenous children under child welfare legislation
  • Self-management and self-determination
  • Estimating the numbers removed
• 3 New South Wales and the ACT
  • Early policies and practices
  • Segregation and merging
  • Assimilation 1937-1975
  • Towards self-management
• 4 Victoria
  • Segregation 1835-1886
  • Merging and dispersing 1886-1957
  • Assimilation 1957-1970
  • Self-management
• 5 Queensland
  • Colonial policies and practices
  • Segregation 1897-1965
  • Assimilation from 1956
  • Repeal of protectionist legislation
• 6 Tasmania
  • Policies and practices
  • The colonial period
  • Assimilation
  • Self-management
• 7 Western Australia
  • Initial contact
  • The 1905 Act
  • Assimilation
• 8 South Australia
  • Early policies and practices
  • Protection 1908-1939
  • Assimilation 1936-1962
• 9 Northern Territory
  • Occupation of the Territory
  • Protection and segregation 1890-1937
  • Assimilation 1937-1973
  • Self-management

Part 3 Consequences of Removal

• Chapter 10 Childrens Experiences
• 10 Childrens Experiences
  • Placement stability
  • Placement types, Inquiry witnesses
  • Totality of separation
  • Institutional conditions
  • Sexual abuse
  • Sexual assaults reported by Inquiry witnesses
  • Protection
  • Bonds of affection
  • Education
  • Work and wages
• 11 The Effects
  • The effects of separation from the primary carer
    • Attachment
    • Age at removal
    • Skills and learning
  • The effects of institutionalisation
    • Institutional and other placements Inquiry witnesses
  • The effects of abuses and denigration
    • Sexual Abuse
    • Other trauma
    • After-effects of forcible removal
    • Racism
  • The effects of separation from the Indigenous community
    • Cultural knowledge
    • Indigenous identity
    • Native title
  • The effects on family and community
  • Inter-generational effects
    • Parenting
    • Behavioural problems
    • Violence
    • Unresolved grief and trauma
    • Depression and mental illness
• 12 Reunion
  • Importance of reunions
  • Joyous reunions
  • Reunion impossible
  • Complicating factors
  • Bonds broken forever
  • Unwelcome news
  • Unsupported reunions
  • Community reunion
  • Impacts on foster and adoptive families
  • International removals

Part 4 Reparation

• 13 Grounds for Reparation
  • Evaluation of government actions
  • Two broad periods
• Colonial legal standards
  • Deprivation of liberty
  • Administrative removal powers not subject to prior judicial scrutiny
  • Deprivation of parental rights
  • Abuses of power
  • Breach of guardianship duties
  • Statutory sources of guardianship and related fiduciary obligations
• International human rights
  • Systematic racial discrimination
  • Genocide
  • Conclusion
• 14 Making Reparation
  • Findings
  • The right to compensation
  • A human rights framework
  • The van Boven Principles
• Acknowledgment and apology
  • Government statements
  • Church statements
• Guarantees against repetition
• Land, culture and language restitution
• Monetary compensation
  • Civil claims for compensation
  • Ex-gratia payments
  • A national compensation fund
  • Procedural principles
  • Assessment of compensation

Part 5 Services for Those Affected

• 15 Evaluating Government Responses
  • Evaluation
  • The Inquirys evaluation criteria
  • Endnotes
• 16 Access to Personal and Family Records
  • Existing services and procedures
  • Evaluation government objectives
  • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
  • Recommendations
• 17 Funding for Reunion Assistance
  • Evaluation government objectives
  • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
  • Recommendations
  • International removal
• 18 Mental Health Services
  • Existing services
  • Evaluation government objectives
  • Evaluation Inquiry criteria
  • Recommendations
• 19 Responses of Churches and Other Non-Government Agencies
  • Sharing responsibility
  • Contemporary attitudes
  • General proposals
• Access to personal and family records
  • Need for records
  • Practical access problems
  • Policy deficiencies
  • Current access procedures
  • Proposals
  • Recommendations
• Counselling services
  • Need
  • Church counselling services
  • Evaluation
• Restitution of land
  • Church responsibility
  • Church efforts
  • Proposals
  • Recommendation

Part 6 Contemporary Separations

• 20 Introduction
• 21 Child Welfare Care and Protection
  • Overview
  • Over-representation of Indigenous children in care
  • Indigenous children in care in 1993
  • Abuse and neglect notifications, investigation, substantiation and orders,
    1995-96
  • Categories of substantiated abuse and neglect involving Indigenous childrenCategories of substantiated abuse and neglect involving all children
• Australian welfare systems
  • Powers
  • Philosophy
  • Indigenous efforts to retain their children
  • Welfare efforts to include the needs of Indigenous clients
• Aboriginal Child Placement Principle:
  State and Territory review
  • New South Wales
  • Non-Indigenous care for Indigenous children in care: NSW
  • South Australia
  • Notifications of SA Indigenous children
  • Northern Territory
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
  • Queensland
  • Indigenous children on care and protection orders in Queensland
  • Tasmania
  • Indigenous State wards in Tasmania
  • ACT
  • Evaluation of the ACPP
• Failure of the welfare approach
  • Definitions of welfare, well-being, need and neglect
  • Systemic inequalities
  • Bureaucratic procedures
  • Children with disabilities
  • Conclusions
  • Endnotes
• 22 Adoption
  • Overview
  • Laws, practices and policies
  • Recognition in policy only
  • Statutory recognition of ACPP
  • Statutory recognition of ACPP and role of AICCAs
  • Numbers and effects
  • Adoptions of Indigenous children between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1995
  • Evaluation
  • Conclusion
• 23 Family Law
  • Family Law Act 1975
  • The guidelines
  • Long-term welfare of Indigenous children
  • Kinship obligations
  • Western Australia
• 24 Juvenile Justice
• The processes of juvenile justice separations
  • Police custody
  • National Police Custody Survey, August 1995
  • Young people in police custody in each State and Territory, August 1995
  • Juvenile detention centres
  • Young people in juvenile corrective institutions, 30 June 1996
  • Level of over-representation for Indigenous youth, 30 June 1996
  • Comparing males and females in juvenile corrective institutions, 30 June 1996
  • Changing populations in juvenile corrective institutions
• Juvenile justice legislation
• Juvenile justice policy and program responses
  • New South Wales
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
  • Northern Territory
  • Tasmania
  • Western Australia
  • Queensland
  • ACT
  • Commonwealth
• Causes of separation
  • Policing
  • Diversionary schemes
  • Sentencing
  • Detention centres
  • Juvenile deaths in custody
• Conclusions
  • Endnotes
• 25 Underlying Issues
  • Demography
  • Family and cultural relations
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcohol and substance abuse
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Employment and income
  • Education
  • Inter-generational effects and later removal
  • Discussion and recommendation
  • Endnotes
• 26 A New Framework
• Self-determination
  • The right to self-determination
  • Implementing self-determination in Australia
  • Implementing self-determination in other countries
  • Recommendations
• National minimum standards
  • Endnotes

Appendices

• Appendix 1.1 New South Wales
• Appendix 1.2 Australian Capital Territory
• Appendix 2 Victoria
• Appendix 3 Queensland
• Appendix 4 Tasmania
• Appendix 5 Western Australia
• Appendix 6 South Australia
• Appendix 7 Northern Territory
• Appendix 8 The van Boven Principles
• Appendix 9 Recommendations
• Appendix 10 Schedule of Hearings
• Appendix 11 Evidence and Submissions
  • Australia
  • ACT
  • International
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
• Appendix 12 Acknowledgments
• Bibliography

The above report discredited by a government official
The above report discredited by a former minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Father Brendon Walters on Native Title
The politically correct on the ABC's Background Briefing radio programme

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