The Hazar Amisnery wrote:This is funny cause here in Aus we have a term called the Stolen Generation which refers to all the children who were taken away from their families by the government in the last century. I hope this act isn't trying to get nations to go down a similar path.
Sorry to correct you, but I think it’s a distinction worth making. The stolen generation does not refer to all the children who were taken away from their families by the government in the last century. There have been, and continue to be compelling reasons to remove children from their parents. Active physical and sexual abuse are more common than you’d think, as is simple neglect. These are legitimate issues that this resolution attempted to remedy (albeit very ambitiously and without enough drafting).
The stolen generation is a far nastier event than you’ve implied. It was the systematic, organised removal of Aboriginal children from their families by the Australian government, for the explicit purpose of suppressing and undermining Aboriginal people and their culture, and lasted up until around the 1980s. They literally wanted to breed Aboriginal people out of existence. This is not at all equivalent to removing a neglected child from an abusive parent. While the percentage of Aboriginal children in the foster system is disproportionately high, this is a direct result of the policies behind the stolen generation and similarly blatantly racist government policies, and the total shattering of trust between Aboriginal Australians and the Australian/state governments.
Children need protection, sometimes from those who should be caring from them. You should not misrepresent what was essentially an attempted genocide to undermine efforts to support them.
___________
Telgan Alpha wrote:Before this is even further contemplated, I ask one question: is there, in theory, enough support for a resolution like this for WA voters?
I would absolutely support a similar proposal. With a narrower scope and a closer attention to detail, I think it would be a worthy addition to the resolution pile.