WGAR News: Communique from Grandmothers Against Removals National Committee and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy rally - 13 February 2015

Newsletter date: 14 February 2015

Contents:

* Statement: 13 Feb 2015 - National Statement marking the Anniversary of the National Apology
Communique from Grandmothers Against Removals National Committee and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy rally on the anniversary of the National Apology - February 13 2015
* Audio: Gerry Georgatos, NIRS: Grannies group protest marks apology anniversary [Featuring Grandmother Priscilla Whiteman]
* Audio: Gerry Georgatos, NIRS: Child welfare rally to coincide with National Apology anniversary [Featuring Aunty Hazel Collins of GMAR]
* Audio: NIRS: Plea for policy change underscores seventh apology anniversary [Featuring SNAICC CEO Frank Hytten & Aunty Hazel Collins]
* Audio Interview: Steven Riggall & Louise Evans, The Wire: Grannies highlight impact of Aboriginal child removals [Featuring Olivia Nigro & Aunty Veronica Saunders of GMAR]
* Video: NITV News - 13 February 2015: Grandmothers Against Removals protest at Parliament House, Canberra
* Analysis / Opinion: Amy McQuire, New Matilda: 'It Must Never Happen Again': Seven Years On From The Apology, Guess What Is Happening
* News: Shalailah Medhora, The Guardian: Stolen generations: children still being removed, say Indigenous protesters
* Flyer: Join Our Fight Against Ongoing Stolen Generations: National Protest 13 February 2015 Outside Parliament House Canberra! Marking 7th anniversary of national apology

* Audio: Life Matters, ABC Radio National: The increase in Indigenous child removals [Featuring Debra Swan of GMAR, Jeremy Sammut, Sue-Anne Hunter & Deidre Mulkerin]
* Video: NITV News - 12 February 2015: "Fighting for their kids; The Grandmothers Against Removals tell their story in the nation's capital."
* Audio & Article: Darren Mara, SBS News: Stolen Generations forum marks Apology anniversary
* Media Alert: "Stolen Generations are worse than ever before", testify affected Aboriginal Families on Anniversary of National Apology
10am Thursday 12 February, 2015 - Room S23, Federal Parliament House - Hosted by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert

* News: Emma Sleath, ABC Alice Springs: 'Give back our children', Aboriginal grandmother says

* Homepage of the Grandmothers Against Removals website: http://stopstolengenerations.com.au/
* Facebook: Stop Stolen Generations: https://www.facebook.com/stopstolengenerations
* WGAR Background: Removal of Aboriginal children and the continuing Stolen Generation

* Audio: Justin Fenwick, The Wire: Aboriginal rights in the hands of a new generation [Featuring Gerry Georgatos, Tauto Sansbury, Michael Mansell & Debra Swan of GMAR]

WGAR News Public Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

- Statement

13 Feb 2015 - National Statement marking the Anniversary of the National Apology
Communique from Grandmothers Against Removals National Committee and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy rally on the anniversary of the National Apology - February 13 2015
http://stopstolengenerations.com.au/13-feb-2015-national-statement-marki...
https://www.facebook.com/stopstolengenerations/posts/383951788433144
13 Feb 15: "Today we march in protest against the unprecedented theft of Aboriginal children from their families by so-called "Child Protection" agencies across Australia.
We are in urgent need of protection from the criminal actions of these Departments, who persecute Aboriginal families and mobilise police to terrorise children with forced removals. More Aboriginal children are forcibly separated from their families at this moment than at any time in history.
We march in solidarity with the many Aboriginal families who suffer the fresh pain of forced removal every day. We march in solidarity with the black children who run away in fear from foster care placements and institutions every night.
We march to mark seven years since then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an "apology" to the Stolen Generations of the 20th Century, an apology loaded with the worst hypocrisy, given the crescendo of forced child removals that took place under the watch of his government. ... "

- Audio

NIRS: Grannies group protest marks apology anniversary
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Grannies-group-protest-marks-apology-anniversary
13 Feb 15: "Family advocacy group Grandmothers Against Removals is protesting in Canberra today against high rates of Aboriginal kids taken from family. It's in concurrence with the seventh anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, which is being marked today. Grandmother Priscilla Whiteman says at-risk children need the support of their communities, rather than being removed by the government." Gerry Georgatos, Correspondent

- Audio

NIRS: Child welfare rally to coincide with National Apology anniversary
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Child-welfare-rally-to-coincide-with-National-Ap...
12 Feb 15: "Indigenous community members are arriving in Canberra from around the country for a protest coinciding with the anniversary of the Stolen Generations apology tomorrow. Grandmothers Against Removals spokesperson Aunty Hazel Collins says Governments should allow community-driven care of at-risk children rather than removing them from their extended families." Gerry Georgatos, Correspondent

- Audio

NIRS: Plea for policy change underscores seventh apology anniversary
http://nirs.org.au/NEWS/Plea-for-policy-change-underscores-seventh-apolo...
13 Feb 15: "SNAICC CEO Frank Hytten says it's typically not part of governments' agenda to spend money on preventative services. Indigenous rights advocates are in Canberra today for a protest coinciding with the anniversary. Grandmothers Against Removals spokesperson Aunty Hazel Collins says Governments should allow community-driven care of at-risk children rather than removing them from their families." NIRS

- Audio Interview

The Wire: Grannies highlight impact of Aboriginal child removals
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12410
http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/child%20removal.mp3
13 Feb 15: "Seven years after Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations, protestors converged on parliament in Canberra to call for the end of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Leading the rally, the Grandmothers Against Removals are calling for the introduction of a reunification program for children placed with non-Indigenous families.
Featured in story:
* Spokesperson of Grandmothers against Removals Olivia Nigro
* Member of Grandmothers against Removals Aunty Veronica Saunders"
Produced by Steven Riggall and Louise Evans

- Video

NITV News - 13 February 2015: Grandmothers Against Removals protest at Parliament House, Canberra
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/398529091901/NITV-News-13-February-...
"Published on 13 February 2015 on NITV; Expires on 20 February 2015, 5:30pm."
[Starts about 10 minutes into the NITV News video.]

- Analysis / Opinion

New Matilda: 'It Must Never Happen Again': Seven Years On From The Apology, Guess What Is Happening
https://newmatilda.com/2015/02/13/it-must-never-happen-again-seven-years...
13 Feb 15: "The anniversary of the National Apology has been marked by protests at the soaring rates of child removal. Amy McQuire reports. Seven years ago today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people mobilised on the lawns of Parliament House to watch Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologise to members of the Stolen Generations, and promise that "the injustices of the past must never, never happen again". But today, grandmothers from across the country will march on that same lawn, saying that it is happening again. In fact, they say, it never stopped. There is a ‘continuing Stolen Generations’. ... " By Amy McQuire, a senior reporter with New Matilda. She's the former editor of Tracker magazine and the National Indigenous Times.

- News

The Guardian: Stolen generations: children still being removed, say Indigenous protesters
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/13/stolen-generations...
13 Feb 15: "On anniversary of apology to stolen generations, Indigenous protesters say government-based removal still taking place under the auspices of child protection. A group of about 100 people marched on Canberra’s parliament house from the Aboriginal tent embassy on Friday. Among them were the Grandmothers Against Removals group, who were calling for children to be returned to their families. "We demand a national restoration program to bring our children home. ... " a statement from the group said." Shalailah Medhora, a reporter for Guardian Australia

- Flyer

Join Our Fight Against Ongoing Stolen Generations
http://stopstolengenerations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/joinourfi...
http://stopstolengenerations.com.au/
"National Protest 13 February 2015
Outside Parliament House Canberra!
Marking 7th anniversary of national apology
www.stopstolengenerations.com.au "

- Audio

Life Matters, ABC Radio National: The increase in Indigenous child removals
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/indigenous-chil...
12 Feb 15: "There's been a sharp rise in the number of indigenous children being placed in out of home care. Indigenous "Grandmothers against Removals" are demanding a national reunification scheme for children and their families and an independent review of the welfare policies driving these statistics. The grandmothers say we're in danger of creating another stolen generation. So can we reduce child removals while at the same time acting in the best interests of indigenous children?"
"Guests:
* Debra Swan, Grandmothers Against Removals and former indigenous child protection worker
* Jeremy Sammut, Research Fellow Centre for Independent Studies
* Sue-Anne Hunter, Manager Aboriginal Children's Healing Team, VACCA
* Deidre Mulkerin, Deputy Secretary, Family and Community Services, NSW"
"Credits: Presenter Natasha Mitchell; Producer Lindy Raine"

- Video

NITV News - 12 February 2015: "Fighting for their kids; The Grandmothers Against Removals tell their story in the nation's capital."
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/397776963719/NITV-News-12-February-...
"Published on 12 February 2015 on NITV; Expires on 19 February 2015, 5:30pm."

- Audio & Article

SBS News: Stolen Generations forum marks Apology anniversary
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/12/stolen-generations-forum-m...
12 Feb 15: "Members of the Stolen Generations, their families and supporters are commemorating the seventh anniversary of the national Apology with a forum in Canberra. It's been nearly 18 years since the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in federal parliament. That report revealed the debilitating impact that the removal of children from their families had on Aboriginal communities across Australia. What followed over a decade later was a national apology in federal parliament to the Stolen Generations." By Darren Mara

- Media Alert Wednesday 11 February 2015

"Stolen Generations are worse than ever before", testify affected Aboriginal Families on Anniversary of National Apology
https://bushtelegraph.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/gmar-press-conference-...
http://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2015/02/11/stolen-generations-are-wor...
[scroll down page] https://www.facebook.com/stopstolengenerations
"10am Thursday 12 February, 2015 - Room S23, Federal Parliament House, Canberra - Hosted by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert
Speakers include:
Debra Swan (NSW) ... Karen Fusi (QU) ... Audrey Martin (NT) ... Vanessa Culbong (WA) ...
To mark the seventh anniversary of the national Apology to Stolen Generations, members of the Grandmothers Against Removals (GMAR) National Committee will provide personal testimonies about the unprecedented crisis of large-scale forced removal of Aboriginal children across Australia.
Despite the silence on child removal in the latest "Closing the Gap" report, new Productivity Commission figures show that more than 15,000 Aboriginal children are currently in "out of home care". This number is escalating rapidly and is higher than at any point during the Stolen Generations of the 20th Century.
GMAR is preparing for a major rally on February 13, to demand an end to the removals, a national reunification program and Aboriginal control over Aboriginal child welfare. GMAR members led recent protests during morning television coverage of the Liberal leadership spill. ...
Also available for interview: Suellyn Tighe (NSW) ... Albert Hartnett (NSW) ... Hazel Collins (NSW) ... "

- News

ABC Alice Springs: 'Give back our children', Aboriginal grandmother says
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/02/11/4178001.htm
12 Feb 15: "An Aboriginal woman living in Alice Springs says the NT government had 'no right' to remove children from her care. ... But in 2013, authorities removed two children who were under her care and placed them on temporary protection orders. The grounds for removal were later overruled but it would be over a year before the children were returned. ... Researcher and activist Paddy Gibson said the numbers are at crisis level and reflect a new Stolen Generation." By Emma Sleath, Online Reporter. Emma has been the Cross Media Reporter at 783 Alice Springs since the end of 2009.

- Homepage

Grandmothers Against Removals website
http://stopstolengenerations.com.au/

- Facebook

Stop Stolen Generations
https://www.facebook.com/stopstolengenerations

- Background

WGAR Background: Removal of Aboriginal children and the continuing Stolen Generation
https://indymedia.org.au/2014/12/24/wgar-background-removal-of-aborigina...
(last updated: 10 February 2015)

- Audio

The Wire: Aboriginal rights in the hands of a new generation
http://thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=12405
http://thewire.org.au/audio/15_02_Aboriginal%20Rights.mp3
12 Feb 15: "Aboriginal Rights Campaigners are bringing Aboriginal issues back to the forefront of Government Policy. They are dedicated to ensure sovereignty rights are met for Aboriginal people. These campaigners are made up of the young and the old. Veteran Campaigners are teaching the younger generation the importance of using your voice and standing up for your rights as an Aboriginal person.
Featured in story:
* Co-Editor of the Stringer - Gerry Georgatos
* Aboriginal Rights Campaigner - Tauto Sansbury
* Aboriginal Rights - Campaigner Michael Mansell
* Aboriginal Rights Campaigner - Debra Swan" Produced by Justin Fenwick

- - -

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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