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Speaker 1: Bit of a change of pace, because we are catching

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Speaker 1: up well with Katrina Tomlins, whose mother and father were

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Speaker 1: part of the Stolen Generation that were taken to Garden Point,

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Speaker 1: the Garden Point Mission on the Tiwei Islands. Descendants of

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Speaker 1: the Stolen Generation one a fifty million dollar class action

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Speaker 1: against the federal government back in twenty twenty two, but

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Speaker 1: they say that the law firm is still yet to

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Speaker 1: distribute the money now. According to a report by the ABC,

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Speaker 1: Shine Lawyers won the class action for two thousand people

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Speaker 1: whose parents were forcibly removed to Northern Territory institutions between

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Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three and twenty twelve under the federal government

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Speaker 1: assimilation policies. The article goes on to say that Shine

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Speaker 1: Lawyers last year advised that claimants would start to receive

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Speaker 1: payments this year, but that doesn't seem to have happened now.

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Speaker 1: Katrina joins me on the line right now. Good morning, Katrina,

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Speaker 1: Good morning, Good morning, Katie, Thanks so much for your time.

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Speaker 1: Where are things at from your perspective, Very.

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Speaker 2: Very disappointing, really disheartening, Yes, just traumatizing again, just waiting

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Speaker 2: on their dishonesty on not giving us a date and

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Speaker 2: letting us know.

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Speaker 1: It'll be It must be tough, as I understand it.

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Speaker 1: Please correct me if I'm wrong, But your mum and

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Speaker 1: dad were both part of the Stolen Generation? How are

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Speaker 1: they feeling at this point.

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Speaker 2: They both passed away.

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Speaker 1: I'm so sorry I didn't realize, Katrina, that must make

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Speaker 1: it even harder for your family. Oh, mate, So we're

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Speaker 1: so from your perspective now at this point in time. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: you know, according to this article by the ABC Shine lawyers,

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Speaker 1: they had said that people were going to to be

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Speaker 1: paid out this year, but that's not happened yet.

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Speaker 2: No, No, that was supposed to be in April this year.

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Speaker 2: And because of all their their legal jargons, you know,

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Speaker 2: that's that doesn't have anything to do with us. You know,

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Speaker 2: they're just supposed to be paying us the money and

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Speaker 2: then and they're not.

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Speaker 1: Katrina, how difficult has this process been for you and

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Speaker 1: your sister and for your family, particularly with your mum

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Speaker 1: and dad no longer with us.

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Speaker 2: It's really it's really hardening, really painful.

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Speaker 1: Oh, I can't even begin to imagine. And yeah, I

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Speaker 1: mean the thing is, it's it's a tough process going

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Speaker 1: through the legal system anyway, as it is, But I remember,

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Speaker 1: you know, I remember after the decision was made and that,

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Speaker 1: you know, when we found out that that class action

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Speaker 1: had been one, there was there was you know, there

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Speaker 1: was real positivity. I interviewed a couple of the beautiful

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Speaker 1: women in the studio when that happened, and there was

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Speaker 1: real positivity. But now to hear that it hasn't flown

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Speaker 1: through must be so disappointing.

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Speaker 2: It is, it is, and it's not not just just

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Speaker 2: for myself, but but for the whole lot of us

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Speaker 2: because we are together as a family, the community. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: the Stolen generation.

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Speaker 1: Us. What are some of those some of those members

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Speaker 1: of the Stolen generation that are still alive saying to

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Speaker 1: you and is this causing them sort of ongoing heartache?

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Speaker 1: It is?

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Speaker 2: It is, you know when you when you talk about things,

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Speaker 2: you've got to relive everything again. Thank you a when

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Speaker 2: you have to talk the story.

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Speaker 1: Now. I understand that you're pretty concerned as well that

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Speaker 1: people who are entitled to those funds are getting sick

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Speaker 1: and passing away during this lengthy delay.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we've had quite a few funerals and it's and

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Speaker 2: it's not there. So we're all thinking, like you know,

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Speaker 2: we've lost so many people. Are we going to all

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Speaker 2: pass away before the money finally gets settled? And then

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Speaker 2: where is the money going to go to?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the train of what like, what are they saying

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Speaker 1: to you at the moment in terms.

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Speaker 2: Of they're not saying anything. They're not saying anything. We've

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Speaker 2: been trying to ring them up, and every time you

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Speaker 2: ring up, you just get put through to our answering machine,

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Speaker 2: which is really disturbing, and you don't get any calls back.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I tell you what, you know. What we

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Speaker 1: will do is we all try and get in contact

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Speaker 1: with Seine lawyers as well to find out, you know,

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Speaker 1: see if they will give us any any statement or

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Speaker 1: any kind of indication of where things are at. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if it's going to help much, but I'd

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Speaker 1: like to at least try and do that for you.

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Speaker 2: That would be really good, because look, we just feel like,

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Speaker 2: you know, that that money is for the stolen generation,

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Speaker 2: and we feel like that money is just getting stolen

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Speaker 2: off us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, look, I can understand that you guys are

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to think of the right word that's not

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Speaker 1: a swear word, but that you'd be quite upset at this,

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Speaker 1: you know, and that is still waiting after what's already

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Speaker 1: been a really traumatic time for your family and for

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Speaker 1: those members of the stolen generation. And and then you know,

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Speaker 1: particularly after feeling that you know that there was going

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Speaker 1: to be that compensation and now wondering where where it

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Speaker 1: is it must be really hard.

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Speaker 2: It is it is it's just just not knowing. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 2: just just being left in the dark. And I just feel,

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Speaker 2: you know, for their professionalism, that they're not acting on it.

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Speaker 1: Well, Katrina, let us see what we can find out.

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Speaker 1: As I said, I don't know whether we'll be able

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Speaker 1: to get much of an answer, but we'll at least

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Speaker 1: try and ask and find out where things are at.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that would be really beautiful. I really appreciate that,

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Speaker 2: no worries about just because we just we just want

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Speaker 2: someone to help us to.

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Speaker 1: Get what we what you what you've been told you're

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Speaker 1: entitled to. I mean, this is the thing. Yes, So yeah, well, Katrina,

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate you speaking to me this morning. I

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Speaker 1: know it would be really difficult, and I appreciate your

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Speaker 1: having a chat with me this morning. We'll do our

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Speaker 1: best to get in contact with them and see if

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Speaker 1: we can get some kind of update.

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Speaker 2: That would be beautiful. Thank you very much for that, Katie.

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Speaker 1: No worries, no worries, thank you. Thanks Katrine, Thanks for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with me this morning.