Medienberichte in deutscher Sprache
( keine Übersetzung ins Englische vorhanden )


Medienbericht im Lichtensteiner Vaterland [ aus Lichtenstein ]

@ http://www.vaterland.li/page/newsticker/index.cfm?id=125025&rubrik

News

2. August 2007 - 15:03 - Politik
Schadensersatz für Opfer der "Stolen Generation" in Australien

Aborigines-Kind (Archiv).

Canberra. - Er war vor 50 Jahren als Säugling seiner Mutter weggenommen worden, um in einer weissen Pflegefamilie aufzuwachsen. Das Urteil liess Rufe der Aborigine-Bevölkerung Australiens nach Anerkennung und Entschädigung für die Opfer der so genannten "Stolen Generation" wieder lauter werden.

Es sei nötig, sich vergangenen Fehlern moralisch und finanziell als Nation zu stellen, sagte die Chefin der australischen Organisation für Aussöhnung, Barbara Livesey. Anstelle kostspieliger Prozesse müsse es eine angemessene Entschädigung für alle Opfer geben.

Noch bis in die späten 1960er Jahre wurden in Australien Aborigines-Kinder ihren Familien entrissen, um in Haushalten der weissen Bevölkerung aufzuwachsen. Bislang hat sich Australiens konservative Regierung offiziell nicht dafür entschuldigt.

Lediglich im australischen Bundesland Tasmanien wurde ein Fonds eingerichtet, um Opfer der "Stolen Generation" zu entschädigen. Ihre Organisation setzt sich für bessere Beziehungen zwischen der weissen Bevölkerung und den Ureinwohnern ein. (sda)


VORALBERG ONLINE [ aus Österreich ]

@ http://www.vol.at/news/welt/artikel/entschaedigung-fuer-australischen-
ureinwohner/cn/news-20070802-02543545

Online gestellt: 02.08.2007 14:54 Uhr
Aktualisiert: 02.08.2007 15:04 Uhr

Entschädigung für australischen Ureinwohner

Australien - Erstmals hat ein australisches Gericht einem als Kind von seiner Familie getrennten Aborigine eine Entschädigung zugesprochen. Der Junge wurde den leiblichen Eltern weggenommen.

Der heute 50-Jährige wurde als Kind seiner Familie weggenommen [ Dies ist nicht Bruce Trevorrow ]

Das Oberste Gericht des Staates South Australia in Adelaide verurteilte die Regionalregierung am Donnerstag zur Zahlung von 525.000 australischen Dollar (327.123 Euro) an einen inzwischen 50 Jahre alten Mann, der im Alter von 13 Monaten seinen Eltern weggenommen worden war. Die Behörden hatten damals eine Krankenhausbehandlung des kleinen Buben genutzt, um ihn ohne Wissen seiner Familie Pflegeeltern zu übergeben.

Zwischen 1910 und 1970 wurden in Australien rund 100.000 Aborigine- Kinder ihren Familien weggenommen. Die Behörden handelten mit der Argumentation, dass die Kinder bei den Ureinwohnern keine Zukunft hätten. Eine Untersuchung über das Schicksal der sogenannten Stolen Generation vor zehn Jahren kam zu dem Schluss, dass zahlreiche der betroffenen Kinder auch auf lange Sicht psychologische Schäden davontrugen. Die Studie forderte die Behörden zu einer Entschuldigung und zu finanzieller Entschädigung auf.

Lediglich der Staat Tasmanien hat bisher einen Entschädigungsfonds eingerichtet. Die Zentralregierung unter Ministerpräsident John Howard weist die Forderungen mit dem Hinweis zurück, sich nicht für die Politik früherer Regierungen entschuldigen zu müssen.

Das Urteil vom Donnerstag will die Regierung von South Australia anerkennen. Er plane keinen Widerspruch, kündigte Regierungschef Mike Rann an. Der Betroffene habe schon genug durchgemacht.


Juristischer Blog - Handakte WebLAWg [ Gerichturteile aus aller Welt ]
[ privat, aus Deutschland ]

[ 02.08.2007 ]

@ http://log.handakte.de/

Abgelegt unter: Rechtsprechung (D)

Gericht gibt Aborigine recht 

3. Aug. 2007 | Kein Kommentar

In einem richtungweisenden Urteil hat ein australisches Gericht einem Ureinwohner Schadenersatz für die Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter zugesprochen. Das Oberste Gericht des Staates South Australia in Adelaide verurteilte die Regionalregierung am Donnerstag zur Zahlung von 525.000 australischen Dollar (328.000 Euro) an einen heute 50 Jahre alten Mann. Bruce Trevorrow war im Alter von 13 Monaten seiner Mutter weggenommen worden, um in einer weißen Pflegefamilie aufzuwachsen. Die Behörden hatten damals eine Krankenhausbehandlung des kleinen Jungen genutzt, um ihn ohne Wissen seiner Familie Pflegeeltern zu übergeben.

Mit dem Urteil hat nun erstmals ein australisches Gericht einem als Kind von seiner Familie getrennten Aborigine eine Entschädigung zugesprochen. Der Spruch vom Donnerstag ließ Rufe der Aborigine-Bevölkerung nach Anerkennung und Entschädigung für die Opfer der so genannten Stolen Generation wieder lauter werden. (…)

Quelle: fr-online vom 3.8.2007


Medienbericht im Züricher Oberland online [ aus der Schweiz ]

[ 02.08.2007 ]

@ http://www.zol.ch/zo/detail.cfm?id=413429

Australien - Schadenersatz für die «Stolen Generation»

In einem richtungweisenden Urteil hat ein australisches Gericht einem Ureinwohner Schadenersatz für die Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter zugesprochen. Bruce Trevorrow erhält demnach umgerechnet rund 461 110 Franken Entschädigung. Er war vor 50 Jahren als Säugling seiner Mutter weggenommen worden, um in einer weissen Pflegefamilie aufzuwachsen. Das gestrige Gerichtsurteil liess Rufe der Aborigine-Bevölkerung Australiens nach Anerkennung und Entschädigung für die Opfer der sogenannten Stolen Generation wieder lauter werden. Noch bis in die späten 1960er Jahre wurden in Australien Aborigines-Kinder ihren Familien entrissen, damit sie in Haushalten der weissen Bevölkerung aufwachsen. Bislang hat sich Australiens konservative Regierung offiziell nicht dafür entschuldigt. (reu)

© «Der Zürcher Oberländer» / «Anzeiger von Uster»


Medienbericht im der.Standard.at/Politik [ aus Österreich ]

[ 02.08.2007 ]

@ http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=2983421

Richtungsweisendes Urteil für "Stolen Generation"

Ureinwohner erhält 446.000 Dollar Entschädigung wegen Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter vor 50 Jahren

Canberra - In einem richtungweisenden Urteil hat ein australisches Gericht einem Ureinwohner Schadensersatz für die Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter zugesprochen. Bruce Trevorrow erhält demnach 446.000 Dollar Entschädigung, weil er vor 50 Jahren als Säugling seiner Mutter weggenommen wurde, um in einer weißen Pflegefamilie aufzuwachsen. Das Urteil vom Donnerstag ließ Rufe der Aborigine-Bevölkerung Australiens nach Anerkennung und Entschädigung für die Opfer der so genannten "Stolen Generation" wieder lauter werden.

Entschädigung statt teurer Prozesse

Es sei nötig, sich vergangenen Fehlern moralisch und finanziell als Nation zu stellen, sagte die Chefin der australischen Organisation für Aussöhnung, Barbara Livesey. Anstelle kostspieliger Prozesse müsse es eine angemessene Entschädigung für alle Opfer geben. Noch bis in die späten 1960er Jahre wurden in Australien Aborigines-Kinder ihren Familien entrissen, um in Haushalten der weißen Bevölkerung aufzuwachsen. Bislang hat sich Australiens konservative Regierung offiziell nicht dafür entschuldigt. Lediglich im australischen Bundesland Tasmanien wurde ein Fonds eingerichtet, um Opfer der "Stolen Generation" zu entschädigen. Ihre Organisation setzt sich für bessere Beziehungen zwischen der weißen Bevölkerung und den Ureinwohnern ein. (Reuters)


Anscheinend der einzige Medienbericht zum diesem Thema in deutscher Sprache aus Deutschland.
Apparently the only media report on this topic in the German language coming out of Germany.

Medienbericht in Frankfurter Rundschau [ aus Deutschland ]

[ 03.08.2007 ]

@ http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/?cnt=1184497

FR-online.de - Politik - Aktuell

Gericht gibt Aborigine recht

In einem richtungweisenden Urteil hat ein australisches Gericht einem Ureinwohner Schadenersatz für die Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter zugesprochen. Das Oberste Gericht des Staates South Australia in Adelaide verurteilte die Regionalregierung am Donnerstag zur Zahlung von 525 000 australischen Dollar (328 000 Euro) an einen heute 50 Jahre alten Mann. Bruce Trevorrow war im Alter von 13 Monaten seiner Mutter weggenommen worden, um in einer weißen Pflegefamilie aufzuwachsen. Die Behörden hatten damals eine Krankenhausbehandlung des kleinen Jungen genutzt, um ihn ohne Wissen seiner Familie Pflegeeltern zu übergeben.

Mit dem Urteil hat nun erstmals ein australisches Gericht einem als Kind von seiner Familie getrennten Aborigine eine Entschädigung zugesprochen. Der Spruch vom Donnerstag ließ Rufe der Aborigine-Bevölkerung nach Anerkennung und Entschädigung für die Opfer der so genannten Stolen Generation wieder lauter werden.

Es sei nötig, sich vergangenen Fehlern moralisch und finanziell als Nation zu stellen, sagte die Chefin der australischen Organisation für Aussöhnung, Barbara Livesey. Anstelle kostspieliger Prozesse müssten alle Opfer angemessen entschädigt werden.

Zwischen 1910 und 1970 waren in Australien etwa 100 000 Aborigine-Kinder ihren Familien weggenommen worden. Die Behörden begründeten ihr Vorgehen mit der Behauptung, die Kinder hätten bei den Ureinwohnern keine Zukunft. Eine Untersuchung über das Schicksal der Stolen Generation vor zehn Jahren kam zu dem Schluss, dass zahlreiche der betroffenen Jungen und Mädchen auch auf lange Sicht psychologische Schäden davontrugen. Die Studie forderte die Behörden zu einer Entschuldigung und zu finanzieller Entschädigung auf.

Lediglich im australischen Bundesland Tasmanien wurde bislang ein Fonds eingerichtet, um Opfer der Stolen Generation zu entschädigen. Die Zentralregierung unter Ministerpräsident John Howard weist die Forderungen mit dem Hinweis zurück, sich nicht für die Politik früherer Regierungen entschuldigen zu müssen.

Die Regierung von South Australia will das Urteil vom Donnerstag anerkennen. Er plane keinen Widerspruch, kündigte Regierungschef Mike Rann an. Der Betroffene habe schon genug durchgemacht. rtr/ap

[ document info ]
Copyright © FR-online.de 2007
Dokument erstellt am 02.08.2007 um 17:40:02 Uhr
Erscheinungsdatum 03.08.2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Über das Entschädigungsurteil in dem australischen Fall von institutioneller Kindesmisshadlung - Bruce Trevorrow - wird (unter anderen) in den folgenden europäischen Ländern berichtet:

The Bruce Trevorrow case - Australian child abuse compensation case - reported (amongst others) in the following European countries:

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Lichtenstein
Lichtensteiner Vaterland [ 02.08.2007 ]
Schadensersatz für Opfer der "Stolen Generation" in Australien
@ http://www.vaterland.li/page/newsticker/index.cfm?id=125025&rubrik

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Austria ( Österreich )
VORALBERG ONLINE [ 02.08.2007 ]
Entschädigung für australischen Ureinwohner
@ http://www.vol.at/news/welt/artikel/entschaedigung-fuer-australischen
-ureinwohner/cn/news-20070802-02543545

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Austria ( Österreich )
der.Standard.at/Politik [ 02.08.2007 ] [ from Reuters ]
Richtungsweisendes Urteil für "Stolen Generation"
Ureinwohner erhält 446.000 Dollar [US] Entschädigung wegen Zwangstrennung von seiner Mutter vor 50 Jahren
@ http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=2983421

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Germany ( private report Deutschland )
Jurisprundence Blog - Handakte WebLAWg [ 03.08.2007 ]
[ court decisions from around the world ] [ Gerichturteile aus aller Welt ]
Gericht gibt Aborigine recht
@ http://log.handakte.de/

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Switzerland [ Schweiz ]
Züricher Oberland online [ 02.08.2007 ] [ from Reuters ]
Australien - Schadenersatz für die «Stolen Generation»
@ http://www.zol.ch/zo/detail.cfm?id=413429

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in France ( Frankreich )
Courier INTERNATIONAL.com [ 06.07.2007 ]
AUSTRALIE • La "génération volée" obtient réparation
@ http://www.courrierinternational.com/article.asp?obj_id=76499

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in the Netherlands ( Niederlande )
de Volkskrant [ 07.08.2007 ]
'Gestolen kind' krijgt smartegeld in Australië
@ http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article449658.ece/
Gestolen_kind_krijgt_smartegeld_in_Australie

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Denmark ( Dänemark )
DR Nyheder / Indland [ 02.08.2007 ]
Aboriginer får erstatning for tvangsbortadoption
@ http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland/2007/08/02/100335.htm

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Sweden ( Schweden )
GP VÄRLDEN - GÖTEBORGS-POSTEN [ 04.08.2007 ]
Aboriginer kräver ursäkt
@ http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=130&a=361230

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Norway ( Norwegien )
UTENRIKS - Dagsavisen.no / Utenriks / [ 03.08.2007 ]
Seier for aboriginene
@ http://www.dagsavisen.no/utenriks/article308307.ece

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Belgium ( Belgien )
HLN.BE [ 08.08.2007 ]
Smartengeld voor weggenomen Aboriginal-baby
@ http://www.hln.be/hlns/cache/det/art_541978.html?wt.bron=RSS

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Spain ( Spanien )
ep europa press - ep.europapress.es [ 02.08.2007 ]
Australia-Un aborigen de la "generación robada", indemnizado con más de 300.000 euros por haberle separado de sus padres
@ http://www.europapress.es/noticia.aspx?cod=20070802122121&ch=69

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Estonia ( Estonien )
Postimees.ee [ 0.3.08.2007 ]
Kodust viidud aborigeen sai kohtus võidu
@ http://www.postimees.ee/030807/esileht/valisuudised/275262.php

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Estonia ( Estonien )
SL Ohtuleht [ 03.08.2007 ]
Kodust ära viidud aborigeen seljatas kohtus riigi
@ http://www.sloleht.ee/index.aspx?id=240608

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Slovakia ( Slowakei )
DNES.sk [ 02.08.2007 ]
Austrália odškodní prvého adoptovaného domorodca
@ http://dnes.atlas.sk/zo-sveta/114317/australia-odskodni-prveho-
adoptovaneho-domorodca

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Italy ( Italien )
peace reporter - .Versione italiana [ 03.08.2007 ]
I miei primi cinquanta anni
Australia, un aborigeno viene risarcito per essere stato tolto alla famiglia. E' il primo caso
@ http://www.peacereporter.net/dettaglio_articolo.php?idc=0&idart=8516

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Italy ( Italien )
IL Messaggerro [ 02.08.2007 ]
Aborigeni australiani, 315mila euro di indennizzo per essere stato tolto alla madre
@ http://www.ilmessaggero.it/articolo.php?id=6347&sez=HOME_NELMONDO

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Slovenia ( Slowenien )
DELO.si [ 02.08.2007 ]
Ukraden aborigin zadoš?enje poiskal na sodiš?u
Med letoma 1910 in 1970 je bilo staršem odvzetih 100.000 aboriginskih otrok
@ http://www.delo.si/index.php?sv_path=41,396,229975

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Hungary ( Ungarn )
HIRADO [ 07.08.2007 ]
Panorama
Horribilis kártérítést kapott egy benszülött férfi
A múlt században er?szakkal "civilizálták" az ausztrál ?slakos gyermekeket
@ http://www.hirado.hu/cikk.php?id=222628

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Croatia ( Kroatien )
H-ALTER.org [ 04.08.2007 ]
Odštete ukradenoj generaciji Aboridžina
@ http://www.h-alter.org/tekst/odstete-ukradenoj-generaciji-aboridzina/6224

Bruce Trevorrow compensation case reported in Ireland ( Irland )
Breakingnews
@ http://breakingnews.ie/archives/?c=WORLD&jp=mhcwkfqlkfcw&d=2007-08-02

Aboriginal man wins 'stolen generation' compensation
02/08/2007 - 12:35:49

Activists have renewed calls for an official apology after a court awarded 525,000 Australian dollars (€329,000) to an Aboriginal man taken from his family as a baby - the first such payout for a member of Australia's so-called “stolen generation”.

The South Australian Supreme Court in Adelaide ordered the state government to compensate Bruce Trevorrow for damages caused when he was taken from his parents without their knowledge 50 years ago.

From 1910 until the 1970s, around 100,000 mostly mixed-blood Aboriginal children were taken from their parents under state and federal laws based on a premise that Aborigines were a doomed race and saving the children was a humane alternative.

A national inquiry into the so-called stolen generation held in 1997 found that many children taken from their families suffered long-term psychological effects stemming from the loss of family and culture.

The inquiry recommended that state and federal authorities apologise and pay compensation to those who were removed from their families.

Media reports and press releases in English
( no translation into German available )


The Australian

@ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22175063-2702,00.html?from=public_rss

Payout a win for the Stolen [Children]

Jamie Walker and Pia Akerman | August 02, 2007

South Australia has been ordered to pay $525,000 to a Stolen Generations victim in a breakthrough compensation victory.

The compensation win is for Aborigines taken from their families.

The damages award not only establishes a potent judicial precedent, but will intensify pressure on the commonwealth and states to establish statutory compensation schemes for Stolen Generations victims.

The scope of the order by South Australian Supreme Court judge Thomas Gray stunned legal observers and reversed years of disappointment for indigenous litigants.

Since the release of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the Stolen Generations, only Tasmania has agreed to pay direct compensation to victims.

In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Gray yesterday found that Bruce Allan Trevorrow, now 50, was falsely imprisoned and denied the duty of care owed to him after he was taken from his parents in 1957, aged 13 months.

The state was liable to compensate Mr Trevorrow for its "misfeasance in public office", the judge said.

He awarded Mr Trevorrow $450,000 in damages for injuries and losses, as well as exemplary damages of $75,000. The South Australian Government was last night reviewing the 294-page decision and its options to appeal.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough was awaiting a briefing on the judgment.

Justice Gray pointedly contrasted how Mr Trevorrow had "struggled" with depression and other setbacks, while his siblings, who remained with their natural family, had been able to "achieve their potential".

"I am satisfied that the conduct of the state, amounting to misfeasance in public office, together with the false imprisonment of the plaintiff, has been a material cause of the plaintiff's long-term depression," the judge said.

"It was this conduct that ruptured the bond between the plaintiff and his mother and natural family.

"The breaches of duty of care that occurred were also a material cause of his depression and other losses", among them Mr Trevorrow's loss of his Aboriginal identity.

Outside the court, flanked by his brothers and legal team, Mr Trevorrow said he was grateful he had "peace of mind and closure" after nine years of arguing his case in court. "I've been up and down, in and out of institutions, jail and depression," he said. "I couldn't get on my feet. It's just made me happy that the judgment has come against the state."

Lowitja O'Donoghue, a one-time ATSIC chief who was taken from her parents as a two-year-old, said the compensation award was "just tremendous" following the failure of other test cases.

Notable among them was the compensation claim brought by the late Kwementyay (Peter) Gunner and Lorna Cubillo. The Federal Court ruled against them in 2000, finding that they had failed to show that the commonwealth had not acted in their best interests by taking them from their families.

Hailing Justice Gray's decision as the "first of its kind", Ms O'Donoghue said governments should now offer compensation to Stolen Generations victims rather than defend further court actions.

"I'm appealing to government to own up to its history and set up a process whereby many more cases ... could be heard and taken into account," she said.

Peter Read, a professor of history at Sydney University who has researched Stolen Generations cases for the past 30 years, said the civil judgment was an important benchmark.

"It should have happened 20 years ago," he said.

"I am absolutely delighted."


PR-inside.com
PR-inside.com is a website for the free submission of public relations distribution, news, and press releases.

@ http://www.pr-inside.com/aboriginal-man-wins-landmark-compensation-suit-r192600.htm

World News

Aboriginal man wins landmark compensation suit in Australia

© AP

2007-08-02 10:41:39

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) - A state leader said Thursday he will not appeal a court decision awarding more than 500,000 Australian dollars (US$427,000; € 312,523) to an Aboriginal man who was taken from his family as a baby _ the first such payout for a member of Australia's so-called «stolen generation.

South Australian state Premier Mike Rann said the government would accept a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday granting Bruce Trevorrow A$525,000 (US$448,000; € 327,893) in damages caused after he was wrongly taken from his parents as a baby.

From 1910 until the 1970s, around 100,000 mostly mixed-blood Aboriginal children were taken from their parents under state and federal laws based on a premise that Aborigines were a doomed race and saving the children was a humane alternative.

A national inquiry into the so-called stolen generation held a decade ago found that many children taken from their families suffered long-term psychological effects stemming from the loss of family and culture.

Trevorrow is the first member of this group to be compensated by a court. A Federal Court dismissed a case brought by two Aborigines against the national government in 2000, saying they had failed to prove their case.

Trevorrow, now 50, was 13 months old when, on Christmas Day 1957, he was taken to an Adelaide hospital after complaining of stomach aches.

Hospital staff falsely recorded that Trevorrow had no parents, and two weeks later he was handed to a woman who later became his foster parent. Trevorrow never saw his father again and 10 years passed before he saw other members of his family.

Announcing his decision not to seek an appeal, Rann said Trevorrow had «been through enough.

«This is an appalling case of dispossession. It would be completely inappropriate to prevent Mr. Trevorrow from receiving his compensation,» Rann told reporters in the state capital, Adelaide.

The court decision renewed calls for federal and state governments to apologize to Aborigines who were taken from their families, and to set up voluntary compensation schemes.

Prime Minister John Howard has steadfastly refused to do both, saying the current government should not have to apologize for the policies of former officials.


The West Australian

@ http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=405556

Domestic news

SA govt won't challenge Aboriginal compo

2nd August 2007, 15:55 WST

South Australia's government says it will not challenge a landmark court ruling that awarded an Aboriginal man more than $500,000.

It believes more people will follow the lead of Bruce Trevorrow, who was on Wednesday awarded $525,000 by the SA Supreme Court for being taken from his family 50 years ago.

It was the first time an Australian court has awarded damages to a member of the stolen generation.

As the federal government dismissed suggestions the case would reopen calls for a commonwealth apology to the stolen generation, SA Premier Mike Rann ruled out challenging Mr Trevorrow's compensation.

"He has been through enough in his life ... the compassionate thing to do is end any further uncertainty for him," Mr Rann said.

"I cannot think of a more tragic case, this is an appalling case of dispossession - it's an appalling treatment of a family and of a baby and this is a time for justice to be done."

Aged 13 months, Mr Trevorrow was taken to a hospital on Christmas Day, 1957, after complaining of a stomach ache.

He never saw his father again and it was a decade before he saw other family members, having been given to a white family by the Aborigines Protection Board.

Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said the state government would consider creating a compensation fund for the stolen generation, like Tasmania has established.

He said while the government would not challenge Mr Trevorrow's compensation, crown solicitors would examine the court judgment for wider legal implications.

"There are points of law that need to be ironed out," Mr Atkinson said.

Asked if he expected more stolen generation compensation claims to go before the courts, Mr Atkinson said: "Yes, I expect some more people will come forward."

The government was unable to say how many stolen generation people live in the state.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough ruled out a commonwealth compensation fund.

"No one has litigated against the federal government," he said.

"The majority of the cases, if not all of the cases, revolved around states as well as church organisations.

"And I think that is a fairly longstanding understanding of the consequences and the circumstances, and hence the sort of litigation that has occurred has not been against the commonwealth."

Mr Brough said the commonwealth wasn't "turning our back" on the stolen generation but it was up to states to decide on compensation funds.

Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd said his party would closely examine the ruling, which was welcomed by the Australian Democrats and Australian Greens.

Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett said the ruling "massively strengthened" the argument for governments establishing statutory schemes to compensate victims.

Greens senator Kerry Nettle said the decision would ideally be followed by a federal compensation scheme and a apology to the stolen generation from the prime minister.

Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser said the judgment should serve "as a wake-up call to the government as a whole".

"This after all is the basis of why people were wanting and hoping that there would be an apology from the federal government," Mr Fraser said.

AAP





Government of South Australia

Premier and Ministers of South Australia

@ http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=1963

News: Bruce Trevorrow will get full compensation

Hon MIKE RANN MP, Premier
Premier
Minister for Economic Development
Minister for Social Inclusion
Minister for the Arts
Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change
Contact details

August 2, 2007

Premier Mike Rann says the Government will not prevent Bruce Trevorrow from receiving more than half a million dollars compensation awarded to him by Supreme Court Judge Tom Gray yesterday.

Justice Gray found that in 1958 the then State Government had acted without legal authority when it removed Bruce Trevorrow from the Adelaide Children's Hospital almost 50 years ago, where he was being treated for acute gastroenteritis, and placing him with a foster family.

Justice Gray also found that Mr Trevorrow had been "falsely imprisoned" and illegally removed from his parents and that the actions had been a material cause of a range of social and medical problems he had experienced throughout his life.

Mr Rann says it was clear to him that it would be completely inappropriate for the Government to prevent Mr Trevorrow from receiving his compensation.

"He has been through enough in his life including a complex court case. The compassionate thing to do is to recognise that and to end any further uncertainty for him."

However Mr Rann says the Government's legal advisers are still studying the 290-page findings handed down yesterday by Justice Gray to examine the implications of any points of law that it raises.

"It is important that there isn't a knee jerk reaction to the wider implications of this landmark case.

"It needs very careful consideration because there are consequences not only for those from the "Stolen Generations", but also for a range of Government and quasi-Government bodies.

"Because of the unique and tragic circumstances of this particular case, we can't reflect further on this until every point of law has been thoroughly explored by the Crown Solicitor. However the Government will not seek a stay of the judgement while it awaits and considers this report."

The Premier also says it is not in the public interest or the interests of individuals affected to continue to go through expensive and difficult legal challenges on similar cases.

"We need to be aware as well of the enormous cost to the South Australian taxpayer of resolving similar claims through the court system. I would like to further explore options of how it can be done more sensitively and efficiently in future," Mr Rann said.


See, too, “One stolen life restored” in THE AUSTRALIANn, August 3, 2007 @ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22179171-28737,00.html

See, too, Guardian Unlimited
2 August, 2007
Aborigine wins payout for stolen childhood
@ http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,2141425,00.html 

See, too, Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission
Media Release from Thursday, 2 August 2007
"Stolen Generation Compensation long overdue"
@ http://www.humanrights.gov.au/media_releases/2007/52_07.html


The Law Report - on ABC Radio / Radio National [ Australia ]

@ http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lawreport/stories/2007/1997272.htm

Historic win for member of the Stolen Generation

Listen Now - 07082007 |Download Audio - 07082007
Meet Bruce Trevorrow, the first member of the stolen generation to successfully sue for compensation

Why did he succeed when others have failed in the past? And will the South Australian decision cause an avalanche of further court cases?

Transcript of the program available since 8. August 2007
@ http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lawreport/stories/2007/1997272.htm 

Transcript

This transcript was typed from a recording of the program. The ABC cannot guarantee its complete accuracy because of the possibility of mishearing and occasional difficulty in identifying speakers.

Damien Carrick: Today, the High Court upholds the validity of the federal government's Control Order laws.

And speaking of family, let's meet Bruce Trevorrow, the first member of the Stolen Generation to successfully sue for compensation.

Bruce Trevorrow: Most of my life I feel that I've just roamed around Australia. I still tell people that my lifestyle was sort of a place where I can't call home, so to me, I didn't really have a home to go to, so I've just sort of roamed around Australia.

Damien Carrick: Tell me, what was it like living with your foster family, do you remember that, Martha Davies and her family?

Bruce Trevorrow: Well I felt that that was the only family I knew, and I really thought I was one of their children. But as I got older my skin got darker and I could see that I didn't belong in the family.

Damien Carrick: You weren't told that you were Indigenous and that you were with a foster family?

Bruce Trevorrow: No, I was never told that.

Damien Carrick: I understand that at age 10 you were reunited with your biological family; what was that like?

Bruce Trevorrow: That was a bit of a shock to me to know all this time that the family I was living with was not my parents, and I felt in one way disappointed, in another way a bit more mixed up -- because how can a person have two sets of family? And it was all very strange to me.

Damien Carrick: And you moved back in with your biological family at that point.

Bruce Trevorrow: Well yes.

Damien Carrick: It didn't work out though, did it?

Bruce Trevorrow: No, it didn't, no, and I ended up going back to institutions.

Damien Carrick: And presumably that was not a happy experience either.

Bruce Trevorrow: No, being in an institution is a very unhappy lifestyle; I always got into trouble, and it was so miserable because I used to see kids go away for the school holidays, and they'd come back and talk about the wonderful time they had with their family, and the toys they got for Christmas -- and here I am sort of still stuck in institutions, nowhere to go, and I thought I didn't have any parents, or my parents didn't want me.

Damien Carrick: Last week Bruce Trevorrow was awarded $525,000 by the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Claire O'Connor is one of the barristers who argued Bruce's case. As she explains, the circumstances of his removal from his biological family were to say the least, bizarre.

Claire O'Connor: Bruce was a 13-month-old baby, living with his mother and father about 115 miles, 100 kilometres from Adelaide, and on Christmas Day, 1957, had a gastric problem and was taken by a relative to the Children's Hospital in Adelaide, and placed in the hospital for his gastroenteritis, and then from there, put into foster care.

Damien Carrick: Were there records suggesting that he was neglected or malnourished, or was being mistreated by his parents?

Claire O'Connor: There were no records consistent with that; in fact the records were opposite of that. He attended hospital unwell, but he had a gastric problem. The interesting issue of course was that there were other children still living with the mother and father, and those children were thriving and well, and there was certainly no evidence that he was anything other than a thriving child at that point, albeit sick.

Damien Carrick: What happened to him? Where did he go?

Claire O'Connor: He went to a family of the Davies, who responded to a newspaper advertisement that had been placed into the local Advertiser, and on 6 January 1958 she turned up at the Children's Hospital and collected him.

Damien Carrick: And from the very beginning, his biological mother was saying to the authorities, 'When is my kid getting out of hospital; when do I get him back? What's going on?'

Claire O'Connor: She wrote to the Department and wanted to know where he child was, and they told her he was still in hospital, and we know that's a lie, we know that her child had been fostered for many months at that stage. He only stayed in hospital from 25 December until 6 January.

Damien Carrick: And the mother was left under the apprehension that her son would return home as soon as he was better, and it never happened.

Claire O'Connor: That never happened.

Damien Carrick: So Bruce lived with the Davies family, the foster family, for the next ten years.

Claire O'Connor: Yes, in 1967 he was a 10-year-old. His mother had made contact with him the year before. She'd attended at the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and had said that she understood it was illegal, that his removal had been illegal. And he'd started to visit the family and then in 1967 thought he was going on a two-week holiday, packed a bag up; the Davies weren't told and he wasn't told that in fact he was being returned to his birth mother. He only stayed there for about 14 months, got into trouble with breaking into a teacher's home in the town that his mother lived in, and was then placed into juvenile facilities for juvenile offenders for the bulk of his adolescent life.

Damien Carrick: What were the effects on Bruce of having this very difficult childhood?

Claire O'Connor: That's a very good question, because a lot of the trial was actually used up, a lot of the trial days were used up in hearing evidence from experts in relation to separation of children from parents, in relation to attachment disorders, in relation to whether the presentment of Bruce as a now 50-year-old man -- well he was 48 when we had the trial, 48, 49 -- and whether you could attribute the pain and suffering and dysfunction that he has now to the act of removal, the act of return, and the way that he was fostered and the way he was cared for during that fostering environment -- not, I might add, by the family who fostered him, but in terms of the various problems that started to manifest themselves as a very young child when he was in foster care -- he was slow to speak and had a speech problem, he had a limp which seemed to have a psychosomatic cause, he had behavioural learning problems.

Now the evidence was that the disorders that he now presents with, and he said himself in his evidence, that he finds it difficult, if not impossible, to love, and to care about people. He certainly seemed to find it difficult to love and care about himself; he'd had a history of alcohol abuse, of inability to hold down a job, of inability to form attachments. And so evidence that we heard was that if you do that to children, that you can cause harm to them, and not only that, but at the time this occurred, 1957-1958, that was knowledge within psychiatric and psychological communities.

Damien Carrick: Barrister Claire O'Connor, who says by the 1950s there were numerous studies which made it clear that children we damaged by removal from their families. In 1952 the World Health Organisation had published a major study on maternal attachment and deprivation theory, which had highlighted the effect of maternal care on the mental health of children.

Bruce Trevorrow did go on to marry and have four children, but he says he was unable to fully enjoy being a husband and a dad.

Bruce Trevorrow: I couldn't, because I didn't know how parents go, and I didn't really...and still when I had the wife and kids, I was still drinking pretty heavily.

Damien Carrick: But did you -- were you affectionate towards your children? Did you tell them that you loved them, did you play with them?

Bruce Trevorrow: No, I couldn't, because I didn't know how to do it.

Damien Carrick: And what about your wife? Were you able to have a good relationship with her?

Bruce Trevorrow: Off and on, yes. But it sort of caused a lot of problems, too.

Damien Carrick: I mean, I understand that you've had ongoing problems with alcohol and that also affected your marriage and perhaps your role as a parent as well.

Bruce Trevorrow: Yes. Because like I said, alcohol was part of my life, and it caused a lot of problems between my wife and me, and with the law.

Damien Carrick: And I understand there had been episodes of violence, too, even within the family?

Bruce Trevorrow: Yes, there was, yes. And so I'd go into depression and what they call a psychotic disorder, where I get very violent sometimes.

Damien Carrick: Towards your family?

Bruce Trevorrow: Family, yes.

Damien Carrick: But nevertheless, you're still with Veronica and you have close relationships with your children now?

Bruce Trevorrow: Yes, apparently sort of you know..she stuck with me for most of my life, and it must have been pretty hard for her and my kids to go through.

Damien Carrick: Tell me, have you ever been able to reconnect properly with your biological brothers and sisters back over in South Australia?

Bruce Trevorrow: Not as close as people would like. It should be a lot more closer with family. But I think over the last couple of days, we have become a stronger family because a lot of the questions were answered during the trial, and I just believe that my parents did everything in their power to try and get hold of me and get me back. But the government of the day just wouldn't let her take me. And I think because the family members had to give evidence through the court, it's made us stronger, a closer family together.

Damien Carrick: I understand that what the court was able to do when looking at your situation, and what in your life could be attributed to being separated from your family, they looked at your brothers and your sisters, and I think in particular you have two brothers who've done very well for themselves.

Bruce Trevorrow: Yes.

Damien Carrick: And they were able to say, 'Look, these two boys stayed with their parents, lived in poverty and faced adversity, but they went on to have very fulfilling lives', and you didn't.

Bruce Trevorrow: No, I didn't, no, and it was unfortunate; I would have started learning this, you know, and I'm aged 50. You know, learn how to fit in with my family, my culture.

Damien Carrick: And what did it mean for you to give evidence in the court and to hear the court proceedings take place?

Bruce Trevorrow: Well fairly painful for me, to listen to that. But it's sort of helped, me through the outcome of this court, has given me some significant recognition, that something did happen to me.

Damien Carrick: Just before I let you go, I understand that you've just been through a healing process at Camp Coorong, can you tell me about that?

Bruce Trevorrow: Yes, we have smoking and then traditional dances, and so I felt real proud. I was sort of still really not connected to my culture, but I feel that that smoking ceremony sort of helped me and I know that I should be proud because I have got a culture, yes.

Damien Carrick: As Bruce pointed out, when it came to calculating what aspects of his difficult life could be attributed to his fractured childhood, the court was able to compare his experience with those of his two brothers who were not removed.

His older brothers, Tom and George are both prominent, highly-regarded members of the Ngarrindjeri community, and they're also successful businessmen.

Barrister Claire O'Connor says Bruce was successful in his court case because he was able to establish the authorities did not follow their own clear procedures and their own clear guidelines for removing children from their families.

Claire O'Connor: To take a child from a family is a large step. It's a huge step, and we know that from the cases that involve the protection of children in courts at the moment, to actually intervene to say the quality of parenting care you're providing for your child is inadequate. And the state must now care for a child is a step that should follow a natural justice and legislative process, and those processes were in place at the time, and for some Aboriginal children, those processes were ignored, on purpose.

Damien Carrick: Now what was the legal basis of the claim? What were you arguing in terms of breaches of the law and types of damages that you were after?

Claire O'Connor: We were arguing that first of all, there had been an illegal conduct in the removal of Bruce from his family. Secondly, we were arguing that there'd been misfeasance in public office in relation to that removal, that the state knew what they were doing was illegal, and continued. We argued that there'd been a breach of the duty of care owed to Bruce in removing him, a breach of their duty of care in placing him with a foster family and a breach of their duty of care in returning him to his birth mother in the arbitrary way that that was done.

Damien Carrick: He endured pain and suffering, loss of cultural identity; he suffered depression, he'd become an alcoholic and he had an erratic work history. Were these kinds of damages that you say ensued from the breaches that you're talking about by the authorities?

Claire O'Connor: Yes. Not only that, His Honour also awarded exemplary damages because of the conscious wrongdoing which was the evidence that we heard -- because there were two pieces of evidence that the court took into account and those two pieces of evidence related to opinions that the government had, that stated that there was a process for removing children, and to remove them without following that process was against the law -- and those opinions predated the removal of Bruce. So it's because of those opinions that the exemplary damages award has been added to the damages that had been given to Bruce in these circumstances.

Damien Carrick: So what does all this mean for other members of the Stolen Generation, or indeed for any child removed from his or her family? Will it open the floodgates to other claims?

This decision does not mean that all children taken from their families are entitled to compensation. What this decision makes clear is that if a child is taken, the removal must have been done in accordance with the laws and procedures which were in place at the time. So it remains to be seen how many other Indigenous Australians might be able to establish similar breaches by the authorities.

But having said this, Claire O'Connor points out legal claims can take many other forms.

Claire O'Connor: You don't necessarily have to have an illegal removal to then have a claim in negligence for other actions of the state. It could be the placement was negligent; we know of children who might have been removed legally from their families, ie through the process of the courts and/or consent of their birth parents, but were then placed in environments where sexual abuse occurred. They may have a claim.

This authority doesn't just say that you have to prove illegal removal. What it does say, however, is that there was a duty owed to children, and that duty had to have been exercised with care; there was a degree of knowledge available to the community at large and to those dealing with children at the time, that informed them that removing a child could cause harm; the way that you treated a child and placed the child back with the family if that's what you did, could also cause harm, and you need to do things to ensure that harm isn't caused. If you don't do those things, then you could be liable for the negligent actions that you were then performing.

Damien Carrick: What does this historic decision -- because it is the first stolen generation's case to succeed in the courts -- what does this mean for the wider legal and political solutions, potential solutions to this issue?

Claire O'Connor: Well I think it's quite extraordinary. It informs the Australian community at large that harmful things occurred across this generation -- because it really was only from the '30s to about the beginning of the '60s in South Australia that seems to have had this practice.

So what it tells us is that this occurred. So do we take a view that we resolve this by the usual method, (and I'm speaking as a lawyer who's now been practising for 27 years) of litigating? I think I would be very, very disappointed if that occurred. What I would like to see happen is what we're learning nationally and internationally in terms of how you remedy harm done by a state on a large community, and we can look to some of the Sorry Commissions that the United Nations actually utilised throughout Africa. I think the first one might have started in South Africa, but there've been a number of examples throughout Africa, and in some of the parts of Europe where things of the state occurred on a group of people or a whole population or whole time.

And I think the advantages in that is that it's a public recognition of the harm, it's a non-litigious way of addressing the systemic problems that have arisen as a result of that harm, it stops the result at the moment is that -- the biggest cost in this matter is the cost of the lawyers -- I mean everybody's talking about the fact that $520,000 was awarded to Bruce, but in fact the legal costs, the plaintiff's case was funded by the Commonwealth, the state's case was funded by the state, the largest cost really has been for the legal action. The cost of sitting for all those days. When we sat, we started in November 2005 and finished in May, 2006. We didn't sit that whole time, but we sat for many, many days. All those are huge costs for one person. And it's very difficult to put a litigant through that as well. You have to be quite robust to enable yourself to get up in a stand and first of all be examined by your lawyers and then cross-examined by the state who are putting all sorts of contentions to you. So I would hope that litigation would be the last route that we would take for this issue.

Damien Carrick: Adelaide barrister, Claire O'Connor.

At the moment, Tasmania is the only jurisdiction in Australia to have a statutory compensation scheme for members of the Stolen Generation.

Although in light of this decision, it is possible South Australia might consider alternatives to litigation. Last week, South Australia's premier, Mike Rann, said when it comes to methods of awarding compensation he would 'like to further explore options of how it can be done more sensitively and efficiently in the future'. He's also made it clear the government will not contest the $525,000 award.

Presenter

Damien Carrick

Producer

Anita Barraud