asprilla

The suffering cannot be quantified, I agree. And compensation schemes would be hard to implement. But just because it isn't easy, doesn't mean you should duck out of it !!! The real issue is, "should compensation be paid?"....it is not "how hard will it be to pay compensation?"

I think the argument on colonisation is largely smoke and mirrors. The issue is simply this - aboriginals suffered through recent policies that we now recognise to be racist. Many of these people are still alive today.

Remember that compensation is also awarded as a punitive measure to make the guilty party think twice about doing wrong again in future.

cheers

renth

No, definitely not.

asprilla

So, by your line of thinking, Nazi germany did nothing wrong because it was government policy at the time. The South African government did nothing wrong because it was govt policy.

There is a gaping hole in your argument I reckon.

Luke I Amyofath

The native peoples didnt need western education or healthcare, they lived quite well before white man came and stole their own land.

We cant understand the actions of todays natives because they dont really fit into our western views of living in a house, dressing in a suit for work etc.

They go walkabout because they have a free spirit and cant stand the confines of a house, where we consider our home as our castle, they consider the land as their paradise.

It's not only Australia that was ruined by white man, the Beothuks in Canada were treated the same until there was only one native left and she was forced to wear white (wo)mens clothes and renamed Mary March. Her name was Shanadithit, and white folk should be disgusted at what we have done through history.

esperanza

Punitive compensation - you mean a fine? I understand that, that's punishment.

Personally I think it is impossible to compensate for the damage done, and therefore compensation should not be paid. So for me the 'how hard is it' and the 'should it be paid' go hand in hand. Yes babies were taken from aboriginal mothers, but they were also taken from many other mothers - it was nothing new, it had been going on for years. We now judge that policy as an outrageous violation, but at the time it was accepted by many as the best thing for the children. The intention was to offer the children a better chance at a successful life - even if the approach was based on a very rigid view of what constituted a successful life.
Views change, that is part of society's development - it doesn't mean that compensation is owed to those who feel they did not benefit from historical views & actions.

esperanza

I was waiting for this one!! I'm shockingly ignorant when it comes to South Africa, but have studied & taught Nazi Germany so know much more about that. I think the difference is that the Nazis thought they could improve society by removing what was perceived/promoted as the worst parts - euthanasia and genocide.
That is different to the actions in the 1950s/60s in Australia, where babies were not stolen to be killed but rather to be given 'better' opportunities. As I said before, essentially the same policy was implemented in Britain, where babies were shipped out across the commonwealth to start 'better' lives abroad. (Excellent book on this, 'Empty Cradles', never fails to leave me in tears.)

esperanza

You think that because of my skin colour I should feel disgusted at what other people of my skin colour have done in the past?
If we all felt like that then we'd end up slitting our wrists, wrong-doing is not limited by skin colour.

nickyjohnt

Totally agree with you

Luke I Amyofath

Its not the skin colour though is it ? Semantics I suppose, lets just say the united kingdom's western attitude through history is one of the most barbaric there is, just happens that they WERE white.

Amazulu

'ruined'? The world has been improved beyond all recognition by 'white man'. He has given us modern, democratic, western democracies like Australia where we can live in peace, prosperity and security and where our children have a great future. Sure, there have been mistakes and bad things have been done at times but the world is a better place because of the 'white man'.

asprilla

No, I don't mean a "fine". Fines are imposed on behalf of the government.

You also state that "Yes babies were taken from aboriginal mothers, but they were also taken from many other mothers - it was nothing new, it had been going on for years." This indicates to me (I could be wrong, mind) that you don't understand why people feel aggrieved. Yes, children have been removed from white and non-white families, where social services have determined that the environment is unsafe. This is sound policy and continues today. However, the Aus government policy was to remove children based on the colour of their skin.... regardless of how they were being treated. Can you see how this is distinctly different from kids being removed from white families?

I guess that you & I differ in the way we view the past Aus policy. Your view is that "views change, this is merely a part of social development". Mine is that the government sanctioned outrageous human rights violations and therefore should be held to account.

Luke I Amyofath

It's only our western attitudes that make us believe that we live in a better more civilised way.

Natives should never be forced into a life they dont want. I was going to add that they dont need it either however, we have put them into a position where they need much of what we have.

Before we came, they didnt need anything we had. I think the word "invasion" is the term............

ex_exile

Dont forget the Dutch and Spanish both were barbaric colonolists

Apology Yes, compensation No.

Thats not to say that living / life conditions should not be improved but handing out cash is not the answer in this case.

Hutch

How they've turned out is totally irrelevant. Children were taken from their families (usually, but not always) against their wishes undermiming basic human rights. The core of the legislation enacted to remove these children focused on those of 'mixed' race who were often placed in internment camps. Picture a similar policy in the UK when all the 'half-caste' babies born of the mass West Indian immigration during the 1950s were, by law, removed from their families.

The point is that, whether this (our) current generation had anything to do with it or not, is not the point. The aboriginal people existed on this continent for 50,000 years - subsisting perfectly within nature, respecting the land and getting along peacefully with each other. Within the space of 200 years they were practically wiped out thanks to the malign influences of supposedly civilised westerners and saw the land they'd lived on during the rise and fall of a thousand other civilisations taken from them. If a simple 'sorry' can help make up for that, then is that really asking too much?

Dennis The Menace

No, Where would this stop at. This would go on for years