"Given the history of the European colonisation of Australia, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are wary of white institutions and social welfare’ (Chenoweth & McAuliffe 2015, p.268). Identify and discuss one or two policies or pieces of legislation that have impacted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how the effects can be seen today.
During the European colonisation of Australia, oppressive laws functioned to subjugate and control the indigenous population. The Aborigines Protection Act, 1909 (APA) (Cth) and the child removal policy were particularly devastating, stripping Indigenous people of basic human rights and freedoms, and robbing generations of their connection to their families and culture. Although the Act was abolished in 1969, the trauma …show more content…
The policies and practices associated with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1915 (Cth) supported and administered by numerous welfare organisations and social institutions, effectively separated tens of thousands of children from their families. In conclusion, despite the attempts by CAR to advance reconciliation in Australia, the Indigenous people continue to suffer long lasting effects resulting from European colonisation. However, the persistent colonialist philosophy continues to influence government attitudes and practices into the twenty-first century, demonstrated by the refusal of the Howard Governments to accept the findings of the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and the recommendations in the Bringing Them Home report (HEROC 1997). Essentially, the child removal policy has left a trail of suffering and grief which is a journey experienced by generations of Indigenous people and maintained by governments and social institutions who block their path to
During the European colonisation of Australia, oppressive laws functioned to subjugate and control the indigenous population. The Aborigines Protection Act, 1909 (APA) (Cth) and the child removal policy were particularly devastating, stripping Indigenous people of basic human rights and freedoms, and robbing generations of their connection to their families and culture. Although the Act was abolished in 1969, the trauma …show more content…
The policies and practices associated with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1915 (Cth) supported and administered by numerous welfare organisations and social institutions, effectively separated tens of thousands of children from their families. In conclusion, despite the attempts by CAR to advance reconciliation in Australia, the Indigenous people continue to suffer long lasting effects resulting from European colonisation. However, the persistent colonialist philosophy continues to influence government attitudes and practices into the twenty-first century, demonstrated by the refusal of the Howard Governments to accept the findings of the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and the recommendations in the Bringing Them Home report (HEROC 1997). Essentially, the child removal policy has left a trail of suffering and grief which is a journey experienced by generations of Indigenous people and maintained by governments and social institutions who block their path to