Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister advise the chamber on the progress of the Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for his question and for his interest, along with many others in this chamber, in this matter. Since the scheme for individuals' reparations was announced at the end of March this year I am advised that there have been more than 100 applications received at the halfway point in the 12 months that the scheme will be open, with the expectation that many more will likely be received before the application period ends on 31 March 2017.

As we have discussed before in this chamber, the suffering caused by forced removals over many decades in South Australia, and right around the country, was not just limited to individuals who were directly affected; whole families, and indeed whole communities, were affected by the policies of the past. The suffering inflicted on many Aboriginal people and communities manifests itself in many ways, some that can be easily seen and demonstrated but many in ways that cannot. It has affected individuals and communities in many different ways.

If we are to continue to make progress toward reconciliation in this state, and indeed across the nation, our whole community needs to be on the journey of acknowledging and recognising the immense and long-lasting damage that the past practices have caused. The Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme is, in part, an effort by the government to continue to recognise these harms and to lead others in the recognition of them as well.

Individual reparations are only part of the whole picture. Many members of the stolen generations have made it clear to me that while individual reparations are important, that is not the only, or in many cases the most important, element of our next steps. Community reparations can provide important opportunities for public recognition of the grief, the loss and the pain that whole communities have endured.

What is most important is that the Aboriginal community is deeply involved in how the second part of the scheme on from the individual reparations, the community reparations, will unfold. There is up to $6 million in the individual reparations part of the scheme and up to $5 million in the community reparations part of the scheme.

The ability to submit ideas through the Department of State Development's Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division officially commenced last week, although there have been many discussions in the lead up to this, and not just since the scheme was announced, about what forms some of these community reparations might take. It is up to whole communities, not just individuals, to determine how the funds can be best used to promote healing, recognition, commemoration, and education. Any number of uses will be possible, it will not be limited to just those.

What is best for one community may not be appropriate for another. That is only natural, because every community's experience has been different. Some of the possibilities that have arisen so far during informal discussions include things like memorials, counselling and support services, oral history initiatives, arts and cultural activities, community education and research programs, educational scholarships, and a number of others as well.

We welcome any ideas being raised. As I said earlier, we will be looking to our Aboriginal communities to gain a sense of the direction they may choose to go, and I know that the department will be visiting areas right across South Australia over the coming months to discuss those next steps in the whole-of-community reparations scheme.

I want to thank the many members of parliament who have floated ideas in the past and got this scheme to the stage it is at, but I especially want to thank the many members of the South Australian stolen generations who have patiently shared their stories, hopes and visions with so many of us over such a long period. I look forward to updating the chamber as this scheme rolls out and as we continue the journey on reconciliation and the progress on the Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme.