“We are calling on whoever forms government after the election to set up a compensation scheme to alleviate the hardship and trauma that is already being felt in First Nations communities across Australia. Don’t create another gap.” - Lynda Edwards (Financial Capability Coordinator at Financial Counselling Australia)
Save Sorry Business Coalition, a grouping of 125 First Nations community organisations, has released an open letter to both major parties calling for urgent action to prevent more than ten thousand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families from being denied the dignity of a culturally appropriate funeral and grieving period due to the collapse of funeral insurance provider Youpla.
Lynda Edwards, Wangkumara/Barkandji woman and Financial Capability Coordinator at Financial Counselling Australia explained to NITV Radio that Youpla’s collapse has been long time coming and, for many years First Nations community groups have been calling on government to intervene to alleviate the devastating impact of the corporate failure on tens of thousands of Indigenous families across the country.
“The trauma caused to First Nations People by the collapse of Youpla is a disaster that will leave families and community in severe hardship. There have been numerous opportunities for Government and regulators to step in, but they failed to act,” Lynda Edwards said.
Lynda Edwards further added that Youpla’s collapse will be devastating, both financially and in terms of social and cultural impact potentially fuelling ‘trauma and intergenerational debt’ for Indigenous families across Australia.
