The Western Australian government has announced a redress scheme that will provide $85,000 in reparations to Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families under the state’s historical assimilation policies. According to 9NEWS , Premier Roger Cook unveiled the scheme on Sunday, a day after National Sorry Day, stating that it is open to all living members of the Stolen Generations in Western Australia. “Today, we take small steps towards righting a historic wrong,” Cook said. “The WA Stolen Generations Redress Scheme is a further step towards reconciliation and healing p

The Western Australian government has announced a redress scheme that will provide $85,000 in reparations to Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families under the state’s historical assimilation policies. According to

9NEWS

, Premier Roger Cook unveiled the scheme on Sunday, a day after National Sorry Day, stating that it is open to all living members of the Stolen Generations in Western Australia. “Today, we take small steps towards righting a historic wrong,” Cook said. “The WA Stolen Generations Redress Scheme is a further step towards reconciliation and healing past roles. It acknowledges the Stolen Generations era represents a sorrowful and shameful part of our history and recognises it causes cycles of disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.” The new scheme aligns Western Australia with all other Australian states and territories; except Queensland, which now remains the only jurisdiction without a redress program for Stolen Generations survivors. Although the $85,000 payment is slightly less than the $100,000 offered under Victoria’s scheme, it exceeds the compensation provided in New South Wales and the territories ($75,000), South Australia ($20,000 with an additional $10,000), and Tasmania ($58,333 for survivors and $22,000 for descendants). Premier Cook emphasised that financial compensation could never fully address the damage inflicted by the policy of forced removals. “No amount of money could ever make up for the experience of Stolen Generations members and their families and the ongoing effects on people’s lives,” he said. “These payments acknowledge an injustice. It does not correct what has happened, but it does offer a path forward.” Tony Hansen, a prominent advocate for the scheme and a survivor of the Stolen Generations, welcomed the announcement. “This has been a long time in the waiting,” Hansen said. “Our people have suffered. This is our shared history of this state. The evilness of what took place in this state has a ripple effect right across this country.”

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Western Australia's policy of forcibly removing Indigenous children was heavily influenced by A.O. Neville, who served as Chief Protector of Aborigines and later Native Affairs Commissioner from 1915 to 1940. Neville, a proponent of eugenics, advocated for using missions to “pacify the natives” and ultimately aimed to “merge them into our white community and eventually forget that there were any Aborigines in Australia.” “This state was the worst state in the country, because of the chief protector we had in this space that controlled every aspect of each and every one of us as Aboriginal people of this state,” Hansen said. “This man was practising eugenics before Hitler, weeding out the colour. Today is a historical moment and, as a survivor, I’m so proud to work in partnership with the Premier and his government.” The scheme is open to Indigenous people who were forcibly removed from their families before July 1, 1972. Applications are now open, and Cook said payments are expected to be disbursed in the second half of the year.  

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