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Legal Aid News Issue 17 << Back to index Aboriginal War Veterans will not be forgotten Legal Aid advocates travel to Moree as part of a reconciliation process. The Commission has a commitment to target Aboriginal veterans and their dependents due to the lack of representation as claimants, Jodie Buchanan and Anastasia Toliopoulos recently made a groundbreaking visit to Moree. The veterans' advocates were invited to meet with members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans' Association (ATSIVA) and other key stakeholders in order to discuss how best to improve access to Legal Aid services for Aboriginal veterans and their dependents in the Moree region. The meeting was a productive one with a further invitation extended to introduce an exciting range of initiatives, including training Aboriginal people as Pensions Officers to serve as initial contacts, conducting community legal education sessions on a quarterly basis and providing representation before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Federal Court. The visits are essential according to Dave Williams, Aboriginal Vietnam veteran from ATSIVA. To establish trust and rapport, Dave emphasises, the Veterans' Advocacy Service must first make contact with the various claimants on their turf. One of the major concerns of ATSIVA and the other key stakeholders is the lack of recognition given to Aboriginal veterans. One example cited is the unmarked graves of servicemen and women. These include numbered unnamed graves and graves without the symbol of the "Rising Sun" which acknowledges war service. On the other hand, the graves of white servicemen have all been acknowledged by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. ATSIVA members say the Aboriginal veterans community regards the Department of Veterans' Affairs as 'dishonourable' for not acknowledging their contribution to the war effort and therefore their gravesites. They avoid pursing their entitlements for war caused disabilities and war caused death due to past discrimination experienced. "We were confronted by many moving and upsetting stories throughout our visit," says Jodie. "One of the most moving was about unequal treatment after the war. Although during World War II Aboriginal veterans serving overseas were treated as equals with white servicemen, they were then discriminated against as ex-servicemen and women. On return from service, their land was given to white ex-servicemen for housing. These same white men also received War Service housing loans whilst Aboriginal servicemen were moved onto missions and stations further out of town. Aboriginal veterans were able to march on Anzac Day but unable to drink in a pub with their mates after the march. Aboriginal returned servicemen were given the right to vote in 1948." For Anastasia the Moree trip was an eye-opener. She regards it as the first significant step in a committed attempt by the Service to be part of a reconciliation process, helping to remedy past wrongs. "This trip has laid the groundwork and spurred us on to do more," she says. "In veterans' matters, justice is often a long time coming. Veterans can be quite old before they overcome their pride and come forward or else they get knocked back to start with and are unwilling to try again. Many Aboriginal veterans have already died but we know there are 800 to 1000 still alive, including women who served in the war and in the defence forces. We must live with the fact that so many Aboriginal veterans died without their entitlements. Now only their dependants survive. But it is never too late to compensate for past injustice and assisting the families can become a vital part of our national healing process." Moree is just the springboard. The Veterans' Advocacy Service together with ATSIVA will conduct more community legal education sessions with Aboriginal veterans and other stakeholders throughout New South Wales in the next 12 months. An Aboriginal veteran lies in his unmarked grave in the segregated Aboriginal section of Moree cemetery. Standing at the memorial of the only Aboriginal bomber pilot serving in World War II are advocates Jodi Buchanan and Anastasia Toliopoulos with Aboriginal community leaders and inter-departmental representatives. |
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