WGAR News: SNAICC: Community meeting on the crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removals [2pm; 12 Feb]

Newsletter date: 8 February 2015

Contents:

* Event: 12 February 2015 Canberra: SNAICC invites feedback from GMAR and families affected by Stolen Generations
* Media Release: SNAICC: Community meeting on the crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removals
* SNAICC Community Announcement: 13 February 2015: Grandmothers Against Removals march to Parliament House
* News: Cassandra Tim, NIRS: Family rights advocates to head to Canberra for protest
* Analysis / Opinion: MedicalXpress: Shocking new figures show Indigenous child removal crisis is getting worse
* Analysis / Opinion: Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Royal Commission, public hearings but children removed in record numbers
* Analysis / Opinion: Xavier Smerdon, Pro Bono: Indigenous Children in Care Up 65 Per Cent Since National Apology
* 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

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

- Event

Stoptheintervention_announce: 12 Feb Canberra: SNAICC invites feedback from GMAR and families affected by Stolen Generations
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/stoptheintervention_announce/7N-...
6 Feb 15: "SNAICC wants to hear from Grandmothers Against Removals groups and families affected by the Stolen Generation next week! Please share far and wide. "The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care applauds and supports the tireless work of the Grandmothers Against Child Removal and invites its members to a special consultation on Aboriginal child removal on Thursday 12th February 2015. Members Dining Room 3, Old Parliament House, enter from rear, 18 Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, from 2.00 - 5.00pm. RSVP ... Please share this post"."

- Media Release

SNAICC - Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care: Community meeting on the crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child removals
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-articles.cfm?loadref=168&id=1186
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-articles.cfm?loadref=168
4 Feb 15: "Nationally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (aged 0-17) make up just 4.6 per cent of the child population yet comprise almost 35 per cent of all children in out-of-home care. The disproportionate number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being removed from their families is reaching crisis levels and continues to spiral upwards.
Since Prime Minister Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placed in out-of-home care has increased by 65 per cent. ...
A community meeting in Canberra on the eve of the anniversary of the National Apology will bring together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, practitioners, service providers, researchers and members of the Grandmothers Against Child Removal Group to discuss and identify solutions to address this critical issue and stem the flow of Indigenous children being removed from their families. ... "

- Community Announcement

SNAICC: Grandmothers Against Removals march to Parliament House
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-articles.cfm?loadref=168&id=1187
http://www.snaicc.org.au/news-events/fx-articles.cfm?loadref=168
4 Feb 15: "Grandmothers Against Removals in NSW (GMAR) is participating in a mobilisation called by the National Aboriginal Strategic Alliance to Bring the Children Home (NASA). They will join people from across the country to protest against the continuing mass removal of Aboriginal children from their families. The protest will be held on 13 February 2015, the seventh anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations. The protest will commence at 12 noon, with anyone planning to join the demonstration asked to rally at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra before marching to Parliament House."

- News

NIRS: Family rights advocates to head to Canberra for protest
http://www.nirs.org.au/NEWS/Family-rights-advocates-to-head-to-Canberra-...
6 Feb 15: "The National Sovereign Grannies Group is calling for support as the removal rates of our kids from family increase. The rates of Indigenous children in out-of-home care has risen 65 per cent since the National Apology in 2008, according to the latest Report on Government Services. Grandmothers Against Removals will be holding a rally at Parliament House in Canberra on February 13, marking seven years of Sorry Day. ... " Cassandra Tim, Cadet Journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

MedicalXpress: Shocking new figures show Indigenous child removal crisis is getting worse
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-figures-indigenous-child-crisis-wo...
4 Feb 15: " ... Padraic Gibson, Senior Researcher from the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology Sydney, has extensively documented the contemporary child removal crisis, including providing support to many Aboriginal families who have had their children removed. "This is the biggest increase in removals since the dramatic spike that accompanied the NT Intervention in 2007," Mr Gibson said. "Approximately 15,000 Aboriginal children are now in 'out of home care', these numbers are far higher than any time during the Stolen Generations of the 20th Century." ... "

- Analysis / Opinion

The Stringer: Royal Commission, public hearings but children removed in record numbers
http://thestringer.com.au/royal-commission-public-hearings-but-children-...
7 Feb 15: " ... Despite the Bring Them Home Report and the Stolen Generations Apology, more Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children are being removed from their families than ever before. As of July last year, more than 15,300 have been removed into ‘out-of-home care’. From a racialised lens this is the highest rate in the world. ... On February 13, the seventh anniversary of the Prime Ministerial Stolen Generations Apology, hundreds of protesters will turn up to Canberra to join the Freedom Movement and protest at Federal Parliament of the ongoing Stolen Generations. They hope the nation will heed their pleas." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist

- Analysis / Opinion

Pro Bono: Indigenous Children in Care Up 65 Per Cent Since National Apology
http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2015/02/indigenous-children-care...
3 Feb 15: " ... The national peak body for Indigenous children and families, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) said the report painted a "chilling picture" that was unfortunately disproportionate - with Indigenous children making up only 4.4 per cent of Australia’s total child population. Chairperson of SNAICC, Sharron Williams, said the situation was a "disgrace". ... " Author: Xavier Smerdon

- 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: 1 February 2015)

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

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'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:

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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)