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Australian State to Probe Impact of Colonization on Aboriginal Peoples

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - A truth and justice commission--the first of its kind in
   Australia--will examine the impact ofcolonizationon Aboriginal people
   in the state of Victoria.

   The commission will be modeled on a similar processestablishedin South
   Africa after the collapse of apartheid, and others in New Zealand and
   Canada.In South Africa, a reconciliation body was set upbyNelson
   Mandela.It wassimilar toa court, where witnesses and victims could
   freely express their grievances and experiences duringapartheid.
   Thesystem of enforced racial segregation was in place in South Africa
   between 1948 and 1990.

   Unlike other nations, Australia has never formally examined the full
   impact of past policies on its original inhabitants.

   The Victorian state governmenthas said now was the time for a proper
   examination of colonization on Aboriginal Australians.

   They lost their land when British settlers arrived in 1788 and have
   suffered injustices ever since.During the early years of
   colonization,Indigenouspeople were massacred by Europeans, incarcerated
   and forcibly removedfrom their customary land.

   Today, their life expectancy is lower compared to other groups in
   Australia, while rates of poverty, ill-health,unemploymentand
   imprisonment are far higher.

   The commission will have broad powers and will be able to compel
   witnesses to give evidence. Victoria has committed to signing a treaty
   with its Aboriginal communities.

   Victoria's deputy premier James Merlino says a truth commission is an
   important part in that process.

   "This is long overdue. It is an acknowledgement that the pain in our
   past is present in the lives of people right now. It is a recognition
   that without truth, without justice, you cannot have a treaty. You
   cannot take that incredibly powerful step forward until we go through
   this process of truth and justice,"Merlino said.

   Indigenous leaders and state officials said after 233 years of violence
   anddispossessionthey are committed to telling the truth.

   Aunty Geraldine Atkinson is an Aboriginal elder.

   "All those truths need to be told, the truths our elders had to endure,
   that our ancestors endured. Genocide, massacres --a whole rangeof truth
   that needs to be told,"Atkinson said.

   The majority ofthe panel of five commissioners will be Aboriginal.
   Their task will be to record an accurate account of Victoria's history
   of colonization and scrutinize both past and present injustices. Its
   report is expected next year.

   Indigenous Australians make up about 3% of the population.

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