THE Victorian Government has rejected calls from an indigenous welfare group to match Tasmania's landmark $5 million compensation package for the stolen generations.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings said the Victorian Government had opted to establish the community support group Stolen Generations Victoria to reunite families torn apart when children were systematically removed.Under Tasmania's compensation package, launched this week by Premier Paul Lennon and set to go to parliament on October 31, children of deceased members of the stolen generations will receive up to $5000, capped at $20,000 per family.
The remainder of the funding will be divided between living members.
Stolen Generations Victoria chief executive Tony McCartney, who called for a similar system in Victoria, said today the State Government had offered a formal apology to children abused in institutionalised care in Victoria from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The thing we are concerned about is that they are now offering compensation to other groups in the community, Mr McCartney said.
They have made some commitment by establishing this organisation to deal with issues on the ground, important issues affecting stolen generation people.
But Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings said the Government had instead spent $5.1 million to establish Stolen Generations Victoria.
In a statement, he said the group was a community-based organisation to help people reconnect with their relatives and families and begin the process of healing .
The organisation will work with the State Government to develop new services, enabling people to trace their family trees through public records and then provide counselling services to assist the emotional aspects of separation and reunion, he said.
Stolen Generations Victoria was established as part of the State Government's response to to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report, Bringing Them Home.
It followed a key recommendation from the Government's community-based Stolen Generations Taskforce.
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