The government philosophy behind the Stolen Generations continues to impact Aboriginal children across the country today, Yoorrook Justice Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter says.
Speaking at the AbSec conference on the land of the Mulgoa clan of the Dharug Nation, Commissioner Hunter said the system - which sees Victorian Aboriginal children removed from their families at 22.5 times the rate of non-Indigenous children - was working as it was designed to.
The Wurundjeri woman said it was well known child protection was a pipeline into youth custody, and then adult prison.
This isn't a system failure, Commissioner Hunter said, "The colonial machine is working exactly as its planned".
"Laws have changed…but the actions have not stopped."
The latest Closing the Gap data revealed Indigenous children and young people in Victoria were removed and placed into care at a rate of 102.9 per 1,000—almost double the national average.
On these numbers, Commissioner Hunter said: "This isn't history, this is now."
AbSec Chief Executive, John Leha, said almost 40 per cent of the child protection sector in NSW was made up of Aboriginal children.
"The Stolen Generation is not just an idea of the past," he said.
"This isn't a yarn we have just been having."
Commissioner Hunter lamented the lack of progress by the state government on the interim Yoorrook report, which initially saw only four recommendations accepted in full.
The interim report from the first truth-telling body in the country, called for an independent watchdog to tackle police complaints, stop detaining children under the age of 16 and to implement a First Nations-controlled child protection system.
In April, the Victorian government said they were seeking more time for reforms surrounding child protection and justice and police oversight.
By only accepting four recommendations in full, Commissioner Hunter said, "It spoke volumes to us".
"Let that sink in," she said, arguing recommendations based on trauma and lived experience were left "sitting on a bureaucratic shelf".
A year on, those four accepted recommendations had "crawled" to six.
Last month, an Implementation Progress Report highlighted 30 recommendations had now been accepted in full or in principle, and 13 recommendations under further consideration.
Yoorrook Chair, Professor Eleanor Bourke, said at the time the commissioners were "beyond disappointed" by a lack of action from the government in the report.
"It doesn't show nearly enough implementation or nearly enough progress," she said.
16 formal apologies had been issued to Yoorrook by ministers and department heads, but child protection numbers had increased, and reforms around raising the age of criminal responsibility have been halted.
Commissioner Hunter said the truth-telling body would be holding accountability hearings early next year, and confirmed Ministers would be recalled to answer questions on why these reforms had stalled or reversed.
Despite the positives surrounding the upcoming treaty negotiations - championed by the state government - she said there seemed to be a tendency by some in power to argue they were "waiting for Treaty and what that will look like" before making meaningful changes.
"I think that's a bit of a cop out," Commissioner Hunter said.
"The harm is happening now."
