A coalition of Aboriginal organisations held a protest outside Parliament House in New South Wales on Monday, supporting Stolen Generations Survivors and families affected by continuing forced child removal.
The protest marked Sorry Day, the anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report being tabled in the federal parliament, which included personal testimonies of many people who were forcibly removed from their homes, as well as 54 recommendations to support healing and reconciliation for the Stolen Generations, as well as their families and the Australian public.
The coalition included Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, Jumbunna Research UTS, AbSec, the Aboriginal Legal Service, Grandmothers Against Removals, and the Blak Caucus.
Speakers included Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor, who delivered the Welcome to Country); Chairperson of the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, Uncle James Michael 'Widdy' Welsh; AbSec chief executive, John Leha; Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi; and members of Grandmothers Against Removals, Helen Eason and Stacey Bell.
They noted when the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in 1997, 2,785 Aboriginal children were in out-of-home care (OOHC). Nationally, that number now sits at more than 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
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Mr Welsh, who spent more than five years of his childhood at Kinchela Boys Home, experiencing "evil" behaviour, including physical and sexual abuse, said the continuing "kidnapping" of First Nations children needed to stop.
"There is a massive industry built around removal of Aboriginal kids - they are commodities within this system," Mr Welsh said.
"The money doesn't come to the grassroots where it is needed to meet the crises facing our families."
He argued the money was going to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) workers, police, prisons, and non-Indigenous agencies with management of children in foster care.
"It's all about control, DCJ are the new mission managers," Mr Welsh said.
A recent report highlighted the "intolerable" situation for children in alternative care in NSW, featuring testimony of sexual and physical abuse, with John Leha describing the situation as, "intolerable and reminiscent of the darkest times of the Stolen Generations."
Mr Welsh said the Bringing them Home report "told the stories of many families and communities affected by policies of removal," as well as the trauma and harm experienced in Kinchela which still impacts the survivors today.
The report's 54 recommendations have not been implemented and multigenerational trauma continues," he said.
"At this rally you will hear from families that are being torn apart by forced removal today, but are proudly fighting for return of children and for resources and authority to flow to the community-based organisations that can make a real difference."
The coalition has demanded policy changes from all levels of government, with Grandmothers Against Removal arguing: "Sorry means you don't do it again."
These changes include ending the forced removal of Aboriginal children and addressing the "massive overrepresentation" of Indigenous children in OOHC, as well as repealing bail laws that disproportionately impact Aboriginal children, and embracing and enabling Survivor-led and Aboriginal community-designed solutions.
