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Members of the “Stolen Generation” say the Commonwealth government in Australia needs to make reparations for the forcible removal of indigenous children from their families in a multimillion-dollar class action lodged against the government.
The class action lawsuit, filed in the NSW Supreme Court Wednesday, targets the country’s Northern Territory, which has allegedly paid nothing to those who suffered from the policy of removing young children from their homes in an attempt at assimilation of Indigenous people as recently as the 1970s, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Nearly every state and territory has acted on recommendations to compensate Indigenous Australians who were victims of the Stolen Generation, but nothing has been offered to those affected in the Northern Territory,” a lawyer representing the approximately 6,000 Class Members told reporters. “That’s why we’ve filed this class action.”
The class action lawsuit accuses the Northern Territory government of falsely imprisoning and illegally detaining Indigenous children. One of the lead plaintiffs, Eileen Cummings, alleges that she was torn from a happy, stable home by a “Native Affairs” patrol officer when she was only five years old. She says she was detained at a police station, a reserve, and later a mission. She claims she was not allowed to leave, nor was she permitted to speak her native languages or observe her traditions.
Another plaintiff in the class action lawsuit lodged against the Australian government, Heather Alley, says that she was forcibly removed at the age of nine from a home where she lived with her mother.
“The Commonwealth was responsible for tearing apart Indigenous families in the Territory and it’s up to the Commonwealth to make amends,” a lawyer representing the plaintiffs told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Indeed, the governments in other regions of Australia have reportedly paid tens of millions in reparations to members of the Stolen Generation, including a $59.5 million plan announced by the NSW government in 2016.
The class action lawsuit lodged against the government in the Northern Territories is scheduled for a hearing in June.
Class Members include members of the Stolen Generation, Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from stable loving homes in the Northern Territories, as well as members of their family who suffered emotional distress when their children were taken.
What do you think of the class action lawsuit demanding reparations from the Australian government for the forcible removal of Indigenous children? Do you think the Stolen Generation should be compensated? Tell us in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by The Shine Law Firm.
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