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| Bringing Them Home inquiry | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bringing Them Home inquiry |
| Caption | Report cover |
| Date | 1997 |
| Commissioner | Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission |
| Location | Australia |
| Outcome | Report on forced removals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children |
Bringing Them Home inquiry The Bringing Them Home inquiry was a 1995–1997 Australian investigation into the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, producing a landmark report in 1997. Chaired by Sir Ronald Wilson, the inquiry surveyed testimony from survivors and produced findings and recommendations that influenced debates involving Paul Keating, John Howard, Bob Hawke, Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam and institutions across Australia including the High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia, Australian Human Rights Commission, National Native Title Tribunal, and state ombudsmen.
The inquiry was commissioned by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission following public and political pressure from activists and organisations such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, the National Inquiry into Racist Violence, Lowitja O'Donoghue, Eddie Mabo, Vincent Lingiari, and community advocates linked to events like the Mabo v Queensland (No 2) decision and the Wik Peoples v Queensland case. It sought to investigate practices tied to child removal policies enacted by colonial and state authorities, including actions by institutions such as Department of Territories (Australia), New South Wales Department of Child Welfare, Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Cabinet Committee, South Australian Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, and missions run by organisations like the Aborigines Protection Board (New South Wales), Missions (Australia), Church Missionary Society, Wesley Mission and church bodies such as the Anglican Church of Australia, Uniting Church in Australia, Catholic Church in Australia, and Salvation Army.
The inquiry gathered oral histories, legal submissions, archival research, and statistical analysis, engaging with survivors, family members, lawyers, historians, sociologists, and medical professionals including scholars associated with Australian National University, University of Sydney, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, Griffith University, La Trobe University and research bodies such as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, AIATSIS. It convened hearings in cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and regional centres such as Alice Springs and Port Augusta. Testimony referenced events and figures including those connected to Stolen Generations, Day of Mourning (1938), Freedom Ride (1965), 1967 Australian referendum, and prior inquiries like the Woodward Royal Commission and state royal commissions into Aboriginal deaths in custody.
The report found systemic policies of forcible removal and cultural dispossession, characterising practices as breaches of human rights and recommending measures including formal apologies, compensation schemes, records access reforms, culturally appropriate counselling, and education initiatives. Recommendations referenced legal instruments and bodies such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Human Rights Commission Act 1986, and called for coordination involving Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Reconciliation Australia, the National Sorry Day Committee, and state agencies including New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, and Torres Strait Regional Authority.
The report generated immediate political, ecclesiastical, and public responses from leaders including Paul Keating, John Howard, clergy from the Catholic Church in Australia, Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Uniting Church in Australia and cultural figures such as Yothu Yindi, Jimmy Little, Ruby Hunter, Archie Roach, Dorothy Porter, David Gulpilil, Noel Pearson, Maggie Beer and media outlets including the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), The Guardian Australia and commentators tied to institutions like the Lowitja Institute. Some state premiers and chief ministers, including representatives from New South Wales Government, Victorian Government, Queensland Government, South Australia Government and Western Australia issued statements; responses ranged from acceptance, partial acceptance, to scepticism and calls for legislative restraint by figures allied to Liberal Party of Australia, Australian Labor Party, National Party and independent MPs.
Implementation varied across jurisdictions: some states issued formal apologies and established reparations or healing programs via agencies such as the Victorian Stolen Generations Reparations Trust, New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme, and through national initiatives led by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and Reconciliation Australia. Apologies involved leaders including Kevin Rudd (later national apology), state premiers such as Steve Bracks, Anna Bligh, Mike Rann, and institutions like the Catholic Church in Australia offering statements of regret. Compensation schemes, records access reforms, and funding for counselling and cultural reconnection programs engaged organisations such as Centacare, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Aboriginal Medical Service networks, and community enterprises.
The inquiry influenced litigation, policy, and legislative reforms involving the High Court of Australia's jurisprudence on native title and rights, administrative law claims in the Federal Court of Australia, and human rights discourse in forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Committee. It prompted reviews of adoption and child welfare laws across states, amendments to records management practices in archives like the State Records NSW and Public Record Office Victoria, and contributed to debates involving the Native Title Act 1993, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and proposals for national reparations frameworks debated in parliaments including the Parliament of Australia.
The Bringing Them Home report remains central to public memory, reconciliation efforts, and cultural production featuring testimonies in arts and media by figures such as Uncle Jack Charles, Sally Morgan, Richard Frankland, Archie Roach and educational curricula in institutions like Secondary schools in Australia and universities. Ongoing issues include incomplete reparations, intergenerational trauma, access to records, and policy gaps addressed by contemporary advocates including Marcia Langton, Lidia Thorpe, Pat Dodson, Mick Dodson, June Oscar, Isabel Reid and organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Australian Human Rights Commission and community legal centres. The report continues to inform debates on truth-telling processes, constitutional recognition, treaty discussions with First Nations in jurisdictions hosting dialogues similar to those in Victoria (Australia), Northern Territory and national reconciliation initiatives.
Category:Indigenous Australian history