‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal

Kevin Rudd’s 2007 Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples acknowledged the devastating impact of child removal on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities and included a commitment that ‘the injustices of the past must never, never happen again’ (Parliament of Australia 2008...

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Main Author: Anne Maree Payne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UTS ePRESS 2024-12-01
Series:Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/mcs/article/view/9294
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author Anne Maree Payne
author_facet Anne Maree Payne
author_sort Anne Maree Payne
collection DOAJ
description Kevin Rudd’s 2007 Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples acknowledged the devastating impact of child removal on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities and included a commitment that ‘the injustices of the past must never, never happen again’ (Parliament of Australia 2008). Today however, while First Nations children comprise 6% of the total child population in Australia, they make up 41% of children in out-of-home care (SNAICC 2024b). This article explores the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal during the Stolen Generations era, considering the ongoing impacts of this history on First Nations families today. While there have been changes, I identify significant continuities between past and contemporary child removal. These disturbing resonances of the past highlight the failed promise of Australian governments to deliver meaningful change in contemporary First Nations child removal policies and practices and to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not being repeated.
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series Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
spelling doaj-art-7b05ff9c9a474af7bccf28045ac624132024-12-17T05:10:00ZengUTS ePRESSCosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal1837-53912024-12-0116310.5130/ccs.v16.i3.9294‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removalAnne Maree Payne0University of New South Wales, Australia Kevin Rudd’s 2007 Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples acknowledged the devastating impact of child removal on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities and included a commitment that ‘the injustices of the past must never, never happen again’ (Parliament of Australia 2008). Today however, while First Nations children comprise 6% of the total child population in Australia, they make up 41% of children in out-of-home care (SNAICC 2024b). This article explores the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal during the Stolen Generations era, considering the ongoing impacts of this history on First Nations families today. While there have been changes, I identify significant continuities between past and contemporary child removal. These disturbing resonances of the past highlight the failed promise of Australian governments to deliver meaningful change in contemporary First Nations child removal policies and practices and to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not being repeated. https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/mcs/article/view/9294Stolen GenerationsAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removalchild welfareFirst Nations familiesintergenerational trauma
spellingShingle Anne Maree Payne
‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Stolen Generations
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
child welfare
First Nations families
intergenerational trauma
title ‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
title_full ‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
title_fullStr ‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
title_full_unstemmed ‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
title_short ‘Never again’? Resonances of the past in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
title_sort never again resonances of the past in contemporary aboriginal and torres strait islander child removal
topic Stolen Generations
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removal
child welfare
First Nations families
intergenerational trauma
url https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/mcs/article/view/9294
work_keys_str_mv AT annemareepayne neveragainresonancesofthepastincontemporaryaboriginalandtorresstraitislanderchildremoval