Australia to establish $280 million reparations fund for Stolen Generation
08/04/2021 22:46
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will create a A$380 million ($280 million) reparations fund for members of its Indigenous population who were forcibly removed from families, Australian media reported on Thursday, months after 800 survivors filed a class action lawsuit.
Under the compensation scheme, eligible survivors will receive a one-off A$75,000 payment for the harm caused by their forced removal, plus a further A$7000 to support their healing, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said in a report.
The programme will be announced on Thursday by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt as part of a A$1 billion boost to measures to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the report said.
Australia said on Thursday it will offer redress payments of A$75,000 ($55,000) to some members of its Indigenous population who were forcibly removed from their families as children.
Comparable to Native American boarding schools in the United States and the Canadian residential schools for Indigenous children, Australia’s program aimed to eliminate all traces of Indigenous culture from their wards.
Australia said on Thursday it will offer redress payments of A$75,000 ($55,000) to some members of its Indigenous population who were forcibly removed from their families as children.