Right Pulse

I always regarded Rudd’s apology to the ’stolen’ generation as hollow. If children were really forcibly removed from their parents solely because of race and culture, then it seems a miss carriage of justice for no compensation to be offered by Rudd. For this reason I’ve maintain previously that Rudd does not really believe in the claims made by members of the ’stolen’ generation. He was only looking for kudos with the chattering classes and victimology groups so as to distinguish himself from Howard. The latest from one of these activists:

Kevin Rudd’s apology this week to the forgotten Australians, those whose lives were scarred in institutional care, was a reminder that there is still unfinished business stemming from that first Government apology – to the stolen generations….

…a national tribunal to facilitate these claims, and assist people with a legitimate legal right in accessing compensation. The proposed tribunal would be a partnership between governments, churches, indigenous organisations and the stolen generations community, but would also be independent. The premise was that governments should stop tenaciously defending claims by the stolen generations and instead facilitate appropriate compensation in situations where it was merited.

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre will tomorrow release Restoring Identity: Final Report. It puts this option squarely back on the table.

Activists seek a national tribunal for two reasons. So far all attempts to obtain compensation through standard legal means have failed because clamants have been unable to prove they were in fact ’stolen’.   A national tribunal can then dispense with standard legal practice and be politically manipulated to ensure the ‘right’ outcome. Devoid of evidence – bring on the cash!