Stolen Generations survivors from Western Australia will soon be eligible for compensation for the harm and suffering caused by decades of forced removal policies.
Living survivors would be eligible for $85,000 under the state government scheme, which is expected to open for applications later this year.
The scheme will only apply to people who were removed as children from their families in WA before July 1st 1972.
Stolen Generations survivor and Co-Chair of Bringing Them Home WA Tony Hansen said it was a important step forward.
“By acknowledging such a brutal history, and evil policies that ripped the hearts out of children and families, this day will go down in history as a powerful moment of truth-telling,” he said.
Making the announcement at a Reconciliation week breakfast in Perth on Tuesday morning, WA Premier Roger Cook said the scheme was one step towards acknowledging past wrongs.
"No amount of money could ever make up for the experiences of the Stolen Generations members, and their families and the ongoing impact and effects on people's lives," he said.
"These payments are an acknowledgement of past injustices - it does not correct what has happened but it does hopefully provide a path forward."
The Stolen Generations refers to Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families over nearly a century, due to various government policies.
The landmark 1997 Bringing Them Home report found that many survivors suffered horrific abuse at the hands of authorities, often with intergenerational impacts on their families and communities.
The Healing Foundation, which works with survivors and their organisations across the country, welcomed the announcement.
“Across Western Australia, survivors and descendants have been fighting tirelessly for years for justice and redress,” said Shannan Dodson, a Yawuru woman and CEO of the Healing Foundation.
“I pay tribute and honour all the Stolen Generations organisations that have advocated and stood alongside survivors throughout this long journey,” Ms Dodson said.
“No amount of money will make up for the trauma inflicted on Stolen children, but redress is validation of their experience, and some compensation for the pain they’ve suffered.”
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said it the move was overdue.
"Today marks a powerful step forward for Stolen Generations survivors in Western Australia, like those I met last year in Canberra," she said.
"To acknowledge the pain and suffering of survivors is long overdue and deeply important."
To the survivors and advocates whose persistence and strength brought us to this point - thank you.
The announcement means Queensland is the only jurisdiction without a compensation scheme for Stolen Generations survivors.
Senator McCarthy said she would continue to pursue the issue with the Queensland Government.
