WA to Pay $85,000 to Indigenous Survivors of the Stolen Generations
Western Australia (WA) has unveiled a long-awaited scheme to financially compensate members of the Stolen Generations, offering up to $85,000 per person.
The scheme will deliver individual taxpayer-funded payments to Aboriginals removed from their families by the state prior to July 1, 1972.
State Premier Roger Cook said the gesture was a necessary step.
'No amount of money could ever make up for the experience of Stolen Generations members and their families, and the ongoing effects on people's lives,' he said.
Applications for the scheme will open later in 2025, with initial payments expected to be processed by year's end.
The announcement aligns WA with almost all other states and territories, with Queensland now the only jurisdiction without such a program.
Announcement Follows 'Sorry Day' Observance
The decision comes a day after National Sorry Day, which commemorates the release of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report. That report chronicled the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly taken from their communities over several decades.
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WA has historically seen the highest number of children removed under these policies. Compensation for survivors was among more than 50 key recommendations made in the report.
Cook called the announcement 'a major step in the pursuit of reconciliation and healing.'
In February, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed federal support would continue.
'The process of healing that began with the Apology goes on, a process we are assisting by extending the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme to June 30, 2028,' Albanese said during his address marking the 17th anniversary of the national apology.
Support from Aboriginal Group
The Healing Foundation, a national organisation supporting Stolen Generations survivors, praised the WA government's move.
CEO Shannan Dodson said the decision followed years of advocacy.
'I pay tribute and honour all the Stolen Generations organisations that have advocated and stood alongside survivors throughout this long journey,' she said.
She noted that while financial compensation cannot erase the trauma, it does offer acknowledgment and some form of restitution.
Concerns Scheme Lacks Nuance
Chair of the Close the Gap Research group, Gary Johns, said the premier was correct in saying the state could not change history.
'The scheme does not distinguish Indigenous children taken from families, to those given up, or those taken responsibly for their protection, and those who allegedly were stolen,' he told The Epoch Times.
'By lumping every applicant together the moral underpinning of the scheme has been degraded,' he added, saying it erred more towards virtue signalling.
'Taxpayers should condemn the scheme.'
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