On 12 March 2008, the Senate referred the Stolen Generation Compensation Bill 2008 to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 16 June 2008.
Date: 18 March 2008
On 12 March 2008, the Senate referred the Stolen Generation Compensation Bill 2008 to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 16 June 2008.
The Bill, a Private Senator’s bill introduced by Senator Andrew Bartlett, proposes a compensation model for ex gratia payments to be made to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons who are found to be eligible for such payments under the Bill.
The Committee invites written submissions by 9 April 2008 and will commence public hearings in Darwin on Monday 14 April 2008. Further details about the hearings will be posted on the Committee’s website in the next two weeks.
The Committee’s Chair, Senator Trish Crossin, said today that the Committee wil examine the viability of the Bill’s proposed compensation model, consider existing domestic and international compensation models, and review any relevant unimplemented recommendations of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report.
Senator Crossin also said that the Committee’s inquiry will be focussed on its terms of reference only, and that the Committee is not able to consider, or respond to, any applications or claims for compensation.
Further general information on the inquiry, including the text of the Bill, is available on the Committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_legal or by contacting the Committee Secretariat on (02) 6277 3560, or by email legcon.sen@aph.gov.au
For further comment, please contact Senator Trish Crossin (Chair): Canberra (02) 6277 3777 or Darwin (08) 8931 0830