Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

CCPR/C/81/Add.8 page 115).As to the Commonwealth Government’s third point of particular difficulty, the Inquirydoes not agree that payment of compensation would have negative consequencesfor the wider community. The Commonwealth argues that the forcible removal lawsare only one example of laws later discredited. This understates the enormity of thedevastation wrought and the significance of its continuing effects on the well-being ofall Indigenous communities. A distinction should be made between a subsequentrecognition that public policy was poorly judged and a public policy in breach offundamental human rights. Systematic racial discrimination and genocide must notbe trivialised and Australia’s obligation under international law to make reparationsmust not be ignored.Far from being socially divisive, reparations are essential to the process ofreconciliation. The Chilean National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation wasestablished to investigate gross human rights violations under the Pinochetdictatorship. A member of that Commission has noted that,[S]ociety cannot simply block out a chapter of its history; it cannot deny the facts of its past,however differently these may be interpreted. Inevitably, the void would be filled with liesor with conflicting, confusing versions of the past. A nation’s unity depends on a sharedidentity, which in turn depends largely on a shared memory. The truth also brings a measureof healthy social catharsis and helps to prevent the past from reoccurring (Zalaquett 1992page 1433).A national compensation fundThe Inquiry received many submissions addressing the means by whichcompensation should be determined and distributed. A number of submissions callfor the establishment of a specialist mechanism to adjudicate on compensation forvictims of the removal policies. These submissions refer to the unfairness of requiringvictims to pursue their claims through the court system.It is a monstrous and callous policy which relies on court processes to deal with the effect ofa government policy of displacement of Aboriginal children. To avoid simplifying theremedy process for Aborigines affected by the displacement policy, exposing them instead tothe adversarial civil system with its onus of proof, causation and technical rules of evidence,is to exacerbate the grief. If governments of the day caused the problem, it is theresponsibility of governments of today to fix the problem. The purpose of action fordisplaced children and families should be to alleviate the pain … The tribunals should be runon a fairly informal basis, without having to adhere to the rule of evidence or court procedureand protocol (Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre submission 345 pages 12 and 14).That the Commonwealth and State governments establish a Task Force which has a majorityof Aboriginal representation to develop a non-technical, expeditious and effective mechanismto distribute monetary compensation to all individuals, families and communities affected bythe removal of Aboriginal children from their families under the assimilation policies(Aboriginal Legal Service of WA submission 127 recommendation 12).