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THE BLACKMAN
The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an artist and an Aboriginal, in 1971. The black represents the Aboriginal people, the red the earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.Australia’s original inhabitants and carriers of some of the oldest continuous cultures in the world, they have a unique status in the nation. When the 'first fleet' of European (penal colonizers) arrived in 1788 there we re an estimated 750,000 Aboriginals in Australia (7000 in Tasmania). In 1920 that number had fallen to 60,000. In 1971 Aboriginals were included in the national census for the first time. They are also one of the most disadvantages groups in Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disadvantaged relative to other Australians with respect to a number of social and economic factors, such as education, income, employment and housing. This places them at greater risk of poverty, violence, ill health and reduced wellbeing. They have also faced a number of racial disadvantages through out the last century. Since the settlers arrived in Australia, Aboriginals have had many of their things taken away. Violent battles over rights to land, food and water sources characterised race relations in the nineteenth century. Throughout this conflict Indigenous children were kidnapped and exploited for their labour. Indigenous children were still being `run down' by Europeans in the northern areas of Australia in the early twentieth century. Although this may sound bad, that was not all. The removal of aboriginal children has left a mark on the lives of aboriginals forever. Indigenous children have been forcibly separated from their families and communities since the very first days of the European occupation of Australia. Governments and missionaries also targeted Indigenous children for removal from their families. Their motives were to `inculcate European values and work habits in children, who would then be employed in service to the colonial settlers' (Ramsland 1986 quoted by Mason 1993 on page 31). In 1814 Governor Macquarie funded the first school for Aboriginal children. Its novelty was an initial attraction for Indigenous families but within a few years it evoked a hostile response when it became apparent that its purpose was to distance the children from their families and communities. Although colonial governments in the nineteenth century professed abhorrence at the brutality of expansionist European settlers, they were unwilling or unable to stop their activities. When news of the massacres and atrocities reached the British Government it appointed a Select Committee to inquire into the condition of Aboriginal people. By the middle of the nineteenth century the protectorate experiment had failed and the very survival of Indigenous people was being questioned. Forced off their land to the edges of non-Indigenous settlement, dependent upon government rations if they could not find work, suffering from malnutrition and disease, and their presence was unsettling and embarrassing to non-Indigenous people. Governments typically viewed Indigenous people as a nuisance. TASMANIAN PAYOUT FOR ABORIGINES Australia's state of Tasmania has recently announced a multi-million dollar compensation package for the so-called Stolen Generations of Aborigines. A total of A$5m ($4.3m, £2.2m) would be shared between 106 claimants, Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon said. He said the money was aimed at those whose lives had been "deeply affected" by the policy. 
Thousands of Aboriginal children were taken from their parents and handed to white families between 1915 and 1969. The policy was aimed at forcing assimilation between Aboriginal and white communities.
Mr Lennon said Tasmania had to address past wrongs in order to move forward. "No amount of money can make up for Aboriginal children being removed from their families simply on the basis of race," he said in a statement. "But the payments I announce today to those whose lives have been so deeply affected by this flawed policy of separation are a symbolic recognition of the pain, suffering and dislocation they have experienced." Money would go to 84 people who had been removed from their families and 22 children of members of the "stolen generations", the statement said. The claims of 45 people were rejected. New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to apologise formally to the victims of the much-criticised assimilation policy. But the government has ruled out a billion-dollar nationwide compensation package, as sought by campaigners. Last week, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said money would instead be put into improved education and health care facilities for indigenous communities. Story from BBC NEWS © BBC MMVIII AUSTRALIA WILL APOLOGIZE TO ABORIGINES Barbara McMahon in Sydney Thursday January 31, 2008 Guardian Australia's newly elected Labor government is to apologise next month to the "stolen generation" of Aborigines forcibly removed from their families. The formal apology, a measure that previous conservative administrations refused to countenance, will take place on February 13 when parliament resumes after a seasonal break. Indigenous affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, called the apology "a bridge to the future" and confirmed yesterday that the wording of the statement would be made after widespread consultation with indigenous leaders. But she added that the government would not accede to longstanding demands for a $1bn (£447m) fund to compensate those affected by the policy, which was based on race. She said that the act of contrition given by prime minister, Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the government would not attribute guilt to the current generation of Australians, because they were not to blame for the actions of past governments. The "stolen generation" refers to Aboriginal children - mainly those of mixed race - who were removed from their families and sent to institutions run by churches or the state or who were adopted into white families during the last century. Some were snatched from their mother's arms. Others were taken under the guise of court orders or were removed by stealth. The removals were intended to integrate mixed-race children into white society. The practice was formally abandoned in 1969. Christine King, from the Stolen Generations Alliance, said February 13 would be a historic and emotional day. "Older people thought they would never live to see it, so it's very important," she said. Opposition Liberal party leader, Brendan Nelson, said he was concerned the government was putting an apology ahead of rising petrol and food prices. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008 THE BLACKMAN Vol.2  
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