Stolen Generations survivor demands government action on landmark report

A Stolen Generations survivor has called for urgent government action on all recommendations from a landmark inquiry into Indigenous child removal, as the nation marks National Sorry Day on 26 May.

Ricky Hampson, 61, discovered only several years ago that he was forcibly removed from his mother as a newborn at Blacktown Hospital in 1965—a truth obscured by decades of being told he was adopted.

A life built on false narrative

Born whilst his mother was residing at Parramatta Girls' Home in New South Wales, Mr Hampson spent the majority of his life unaware of the circumstances surrounding his separation from his family.

"I didn't find out I was Stolen Generations, an actual removal child, until about four or five years ago," Mr Hampson said. "They called me a pillow baby because I was taken from the hospital. I was told all those years that I was adopted, you know, that I was picked out of thousands, and this and that."

Mr Hampson's experience mirrors that of thousands of Indigenous Australians whose removal was systematised through government policy and institutional practice throughout the twentieth century. The deliberate concealment of removal circumstances—presenting forced separation as voluntary adoption—compounded the intergenerational trauma inflicted by such policies.

Advocates demand comprehensive reform

On National Sorry Day, Mr Hampson and fellow advocates are pressing the government to implement all recommendations from a major inquiry into child removals. Their demands extend beyond acknowledgement to concrete policy reform.

Key priorities include:

• Comprehensive truth-telling initiatives to document removal practices and their impact
• Improved access to records for survivors seeking to reconnect with family and heritage
• Fully funded aged care services tailored to survivors' needs
• Strengthened support services addressing trauma and intergenerational effects

The unfinished business of reconciliation

Advocates have emphasised that National Sorry Day represents not closure but recommitment to addressing systemic injustices. The gap between official apology—delivered through the 1997 "Bringing Them Home" report and subsequent parliamentary acknowledgements—and substantive policy implementation remains a critical failure.

Mr Hampson's advocacy reflects broader concerns within Indigenous communities that government responses have been inadequate. Survivors continue to grapple with identity disruption, family estrangement, and complex trauma whilst institutional records remain fragmented and access mechanisms remain cumbersome.

National significance and ongoing need

The Stolen Generations inquiry represents one of Australia's most significant examinations of institutional injustice. Yet implementation of recommendations across state and federal governments has been inconsistent and underfunded.

As Mr Hampson stated, there remains "a lot of truth-telling to do." This extends beyond historical documentation to confronting ongoing structural disadvantages affecting Indigenous Australians whose lives were disrupted by removal policies.

This article was adapted from reporting by the ABC News.