Aboriginal-Led Inquiry Confirms Genocide in Australia: The Case for Reparations

A landmark Aboriginal-led inquiry has concluded that genocide was committed by White settlers against Indigenous peoples in Australia both historically and in ongoing systemic forms. The findings, backed by extensive evidence, demand urgent action, including official recognition, justice, and reparations.

White settlers committed genocide against Indigenous peoples in Australia. Image: CNN

But what does "reparations" mean, and how has Australia compensated other groups while leaving First Nations people waiting? This article breaks down the inquiry’s shocking findings, compares Australia’s approach to reparations globally, and asks: When will Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples finally receive justice?

The Evidence of Genocide in Australia

Under the United Nations Genocide Convention (1948), genocide includes acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The inquiry found that Australia’s treatment of Indigenous peoples meets this definition through:

1. Massacres and Frontier Violence

Over 400 documented massacres (1788–1930), with conservative estimates of at least 10,000 Aboriginal people killed. Some historians suggest tens of thousands more died from violence, displacement, and disease.
Poisoned water supplies, bounty hunts, and state-sanctioned killings were systematic.

2. The Stolen Generations (Forced Assimilation)

Between 1910 and 1970, 1 in 3 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families.
Today, Indigenous children are 10 times more likely to be placed in state care than non-Indigenous children.

3. Deaths in Custody & Mass Incarceration

Since the 1991 Royal Commission, over 500 Indigenous people have died in police custody with no convictions.
Indigenous Australians make up just 3% of the population but 33% of the prison population.

4. Ongoing Structural Neglect

Life expectancy gap: Indigenous Australians die 8–9 years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians.
Basic rights denied: Many remote communities still lack clean water, adequate housing, and healthcare.

What Are Reparations?

Reparations are measures taken to acknowledge, repair, and compensate for historical injustices. They can include:

Financial compensation (payments to survivors or descendants)
Land restitution (returning stolen territories)
Formal apologies & memorials
Policy reforms (closing gaps in health, education, justice)

Australia Has Paid Reparations Before Just Not to First Nations People

While Indigenous Australians still wait for justice, the Australian government has compensated other groups:

🇬🇧 British Child Migrants (2018) – $24 million for forced child migration schemes.
🇦🇺 Stolen Generations Survivors (2021) – Some states (e.g., Tasmania, South Australia) paid individual compensations, but no national reparations scheme exists.
🦠 Thalidomide Survivors (2019) – $500 million for victims of the defective drug.
💼 Forced Adoption Practices (2023) – $300 million for mothers coerced into giving up babies.

Why has Australia compensated these groups but not First Nations people for genocide?

Global Comparisons: Who Has Received Reparations?

Other nations have taken steps Australia refuses to:

🇨🇦 Canada – Paid billions in reparations to Indigenous survivors of residential schools.
🇩🇪 Germany – Compensated Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
🇳🇿 New Zealand – Settled Treaty of Waitangi claims with land and financial reparations.

What Needs to Happen Now?

The inquiry demands:

✅ Official recognition of genocide by the Australian government.
✅ A national reparations scheme (compensation, land returns, healing programs).
✅ An end to discriminatory policies (stop jailing Indigenous kids, close the health gap).
✅ Truth-telling and treaty processes (following the Uluru Statement from the Heart).

Final Thoughts: Justice Can’t Wait

Australia has a long history of compensating victims—except its First Peoples. If other groups deserve reparations, why not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who have endured genocide, stolen land, and ongoing oppression?

The evidence is clear. The moral case is undeniable. The question now is: Will Australia finally act?

What do you think? Should Australia pay reparations for genocide? Share your thoughts in the comments.

#GenocideInAustralia #ReparationsNow #JusticeForFirstNations #UluruStatement

📌 Want to take action? Support Indigenous-led campaigns like:

Pay the Rent (grassroots reparations)
Deathscapes (tracking deaths in custody)
Treaty Now movements

🔍 Sources:

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