The applicants, Mrs Lorna Cubillo and Mr Peter Gunner, are said to be members of the Stolen Generation. Neither the evidence in this trial, nor the reasons for judgment, deny the existence of the Stolen Generation.
Numerous writings tell tragically of a distressing past.
They have claimed that they, as young children, were forcibly removed from their families by employees of the Commonwealth Government. Much has appeared in the media about the need for a national apology to the members of the Stolen Generation. I must emphasise that the question of such an apology was not an issue that was raised in this case by either Mrs Cubillo or by Mr Gunner. I have not therefore addressed that subject. In order to understand the decisions at which I have arrived, I must make mention of the state of the law as it existed at the time when Mrs Cubillo and Mr Gunner were removed from their families.