Apology to those abused a `step forward`

Generations of children abused and neglected as wards of the state believe a formal
apology from the federal government will begin the healing process.
But they also hope it will clear a path towards compensation.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will deliver a statement before the end of the year
recognising the emotional, physical and sexual abuse suffered by children in foster
care over the past century.
The formal apology is to acknowledge the mistreatment of the so-called forgotten
Australians - orphans, child migrants and others cared for in out-of-home
institutions, Families Minister Jenny Macklin said on Sunday.
"This is a very significant statement for those who've suffered so much over many,
many years.
"We anticipate around 500,000 people have been affected and, of course, it would be
more than that if you count the impact on their families."
But like the apology issued to the stolen generations, it is expected to heighten
demand for individual compensation.
The announcement comes five years after a Senate inquiry recommended the federal
government apologise for widespread failures in the foster care system.
The inquiry found half a million children suffered from a "litany of emotional,
physical and sexual abuse, and often criminal physical and sexual assault", while
lack of food, education and health care was widespread.
The government would consult with survivors about how to deliver the apology, Ms
Macklin said.
"I want to spend the time working with them to design the event so that it really
delivers the healing process that they've been looking for so long."
The government has also pledged $300,000 to the Alliance for Forgotten Australians
and Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN), while promising to set up a national
archives system.
Survivors have called the apology a significant turning point in Australian history,
but warned the road to recovery would be a long one.
"It will be a great uplifting day (knowing) that we've been taken seriously and that
we've been heard," said the alliance's Caroline Carroll, who spent 14 years in five
different government institutions.
"We were told every day that we were the scum of the earth, that we came from the
gutter and that's where we'd end up.
"We were of no importance, there was no individuality, often we were called by a
number, not even a name.
"It's a shameful part of Australia's history."
The alliance wants the federal government to introduce compensation packages above
those currently available in Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia of up to
$60,000.
Fellow survivor and CLAN spokeswoman Leonie Sheedy says she hopes money will also be
spent on rebuilding lost family connections and education programs.
"The saddest legacy is the loss of my family," she said.
Both women applauded the Rudd government for "stepping up" and taking responsibility
for the errors of the past, noting the previous government handballed apologies to
the states.
Western Australia, NSW and the Uniting Church have already put public apologies on
the record, but it was up to the federal government to lead the way.
"It's never too late," Ms Sheedy said.
The opposition says it will support the move.
"A lot of people have been very well served by institutions but for those who
weren't and for those who could have been better treated, the precedent was set by
the apology to the indigenous generations," opposition families spokesman Tony
Abbott told ABC Television on Sunday.
Andrew Murray, a former Democrats senator who was instrumental in setting up the
inquiry, says he is delighted.
He says it is important for there to be public recognition of past suffering.
"I'm not just relieved, but I'm delighted and I'm also a bit emotional about it," he
told ABC Radio.
"It's a tremendous step forward to a recognition that for many of them, the
experience in care was awful or less than was necessary."
The government has promised to consult with survivors, churches and state
governments to work on the road ahead.
"We have also begun a dialogue with mothers and children separated by past adoption
practices which were inappropriate or unethical," Ms Macklin said.
"The government recognises that the pain and suffering of these women also endures."