• National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

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30 May 2011A new national Scorecard on the Stolen Generations Working Partnership has been unveiled by the National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC) on National Sorry Day.

The Scorecard measures progress and highlights opportunities that can’t afford to be missed over the next 12 months.

It reveals a lack of progress under a range of portfolios, especially those of Minister Warren Snowdon, Minister Mark Butler and Minister Jenny Macklin.

For example, Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler is being urged to make sure that the National Education Package for the aged care sector on Care Leavers is changed to cater for Stolen Generations – as promised by the Australian Government a year ago.

Stolen Generations survivors face distinct issues connected to their removal, treatment while ‘in care’ (including instances of sexual and physical abuse) and isolation from their family, culture and language – as well as the challenges around reuniting with family.

Stolen Generations are also calling for a fair share of the new Mental Health Budget money ($1.5 billion), and recognition for Stolen Generations history in the National Curriculum.

The Scorecard reveals that while Indigenous statistics on suicide and self-harm are at least double of that of the rest of the Australia, the new mental health money might widen this gap because as it stands, it largely improves services to non-Indigenous Australians.

The Scorecard calls for the National Curriculum to include substantial and compulsory modules on the history and continuing effects of the forced removal policies, which are explored from early Primary onwards.