South Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister please inform the council about the recent funding boost to the South Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. The issue of addressing the wrongs of the past, particularly through the stolen generations, is one of great importance to all of this state and this whole country. The deliberate removal of Aboriginal children in the decades and centuries gone past for no other reason than that they were Aboriginal children is one of the most shameful episodes in this nation's history—in any nation's history.

We have been doing what we can in recent years to try to redress these past wrongs. In 2015, we became the first mainland state to introduce a Stolen Generations Reparation Scheme, but no amount of reparation, no amount of saying sorry, no amount of tributes will make up for the hurt of the past.

The Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation provides family tracing, reunion and counselling services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their families who have been separated by the events of the stolen generations. The Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation ensures that survivors have an ability and representation to have input into the decisions that continue to affect their lives. The corporation works closely with organisations like State Records to provide services to Aboriginal people to assist with searching records and coordinating visits to the site and to ensure that these individuals are able to piece together as much of their histories as possible.

Research clearly indicates that stolen generation survivors face poorer health and wellbeing outcomes even than other Aboriginal people, have a higher likelihood of being incarcerated and are more likely to be victims of abuse and violent crimes. Achieving better outcomes for members and survivors of the stolen generations is crucial. As I have said, no action today could remedy the failings of the past, but the hard work of the South Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation is so critical to assisting the many hundreds of survivors of the stolen generations who reside in South Australia and providing them with compassionate and culturally appropriate support.

It was with great pleasure that my government was recently able to provide funding of $100,000 to boost what the corporation does to strengthen their advocacy and support. I want to particularly pass on my very strong admiration and my sincere thanks for what the Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation has done for members of their community and what they do for South Australia.

There being a disturbance in the gallery:

The PRESIDENT: Order!