Forgotten Australians

The Australian Government welcomes the Senate Community Affairs Committee’s Inquiry into the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Lost Innocents and Forgotten Australians Reports.

The public hearings will start on 30 March 2009 in Melbourne.

The abuse and neglect endured by the Forgotten Australians and the Child Migrants is a tragedy.

The cross-party work done by the Senate Community Affairs Committee in their two previous reports on the experiences of children abused in institutional care was groundbreaking and helped place this issue in the national consciousness.

The current work of the Committee is important in the healing process which requires public awareness and education, ongoing support to affected families and real engagement from the community services and health sectors.

The Government understands that more needs to be done.

The experiences of the Forgotten Australians and the Child Migrants deserve to be recognised.

Each group confronts its own history in its own way, and both are worthy of consideration in their own right, and in their own way.

The Government looks forward to receiving the report of the Inquiry into the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Lost Innocents and Forgotten Australians Reports due on 25 June 2009.

The Rudd Government is committed to acknowledging the past hurt caused by Government actions, along with providing practical assistance for the future.