An Open Letter to Australian PM Kevin Rudd

Dear Prime Minister,

I would be delighted if you would please consider the following carefully, in the interest of the many thousands of dispossessed parents and children of Australia.

Sooner or later the tide is going to turn. It took many years for us to recognize the injustices perpetrated against our Indigenous populations, Slavery, Apartheid, Civil Rights etc, etc.

These injustices were ignored for many decades due to community ignorance. Unfortunately we are repeating the same injustices under another name on our own people, due to the same ignorance.

Saying SORRY to one deserving dispossessed group, while at the same time completely ignoring the dispossession taking place right under our noses, smacks of hypocrisy and ignorance.

I fully applaud your part in bringing about a long overdue apology to the stolen generation and the Indigenous population. The fact that it took 200 years for us to realize the damage we inflicted on this vulnerable group and denied them their fundamental human rights for so long, is an indictment of our level of compassion and empathy. Unfortunately during the 200 years of community ignorance, the voices of reason were ridiculed and brushed aside.

I plead with you to please take a look at what is happening today with compassion and empathy.

It is estimated that the stolen generation numbered approximately 50,000 children. We now know the horrendous ramification of this "Best Interest of the Children" policy debacle, ironically administered by someone with the offensive sickening title of "PROTECTOR OF ABORIGINES"

Sadly the figure of 50,000 children representing the Stolen Generation, pales into insignificance when compared with the current figures of forcible separation of children from their parents.

The latest ABS figures show that:

1. There are now almost 700,000 Australian children who no longer have any meaningful contact with their biological non custodial parents.

2. There are now 312,000 biological non custodial parents who no longer have any meaningful contact with their children.

These figures do not include the extended biological family members such as grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, etc, who are estimated to add a further 1.5 million people, who are also denied their ties of kinship with their much loved members of their families.

This is an estimated total of 2.6 million of the nations citizens now reduced to a "GENERATION OF THE DAMNED". This human horror, is administered by the current so called protector of the Best Interest of the Children, THE FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA.

Contrary to what is promoted by those who wish to continue with the current failed policies, no scientific evidence has ever been produced anywhere, to show that large numbers of non custodial parents are voluntarily abandoning their children. While individual examples can always be found of any reprehensible behaviour, these should never be allowed to be promoted as representing the behaviour of the majority group.

The voices of reason, who are endeavoring to bring these gross violations of human rights to the attention of the community, are again ridiculed and brushed aside.

It comes as no surprise that so many children are neglected and abused in our community. It occurs because checks and balances have been removed by allowing the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of loving parents from their children.

Perhaps you could explain to an anxious community, how responsible parents are supposed to meet their duty of care and responsibility obligations to their children, when the State is permitting the illegal removal of children from their non custodial parents with impunity???

I respectfully ask that you please consider the above together with my previous correspondence, and in the interest of all the disenfranchised members of 'THE GENERATION OF THE DAMNED' of this great country, hope that you are able to help bring about some relief to all those affected.

Our failure to act will undoubtedly produce a similar outcome for our community, as was the fate of the Indigenous community before us.

I very much look forward to a reply of my concerns.

Kind Regards

Peter van de Voorde, 2008