Forced adoption survivors in Western Australia say they are frustrated by slow progress two years after the government responded to a 2023 inquiry. The inquiry made 39 recommendations, but a working group advising the government has operated under confidentiality agreements. Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski says 10 recommendations are now complete and that redress is under further consideration. The minister has also pledged laws for integrated birth certificates listing biological and adoptive parents. Survivors want a set timeline for redress, which they say could help fund counselling.
Survivors of extreme weather disasters in the United States are organising into a political group. Extreme Weather Survivors, co-founded by film-maker Sierra Kos, has grown to about 2,500 members across the country. Members want faster federal disaster response and say aid should not be politicised. At a meeting in Kerrville, Texas, only one of the invited gubernatorial and senate candidates attended. Survivors describe long struggles with insurers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency over repairs and housing.
Survivors of a 2023 bus crash near Greta are calling for change after a safety report was released. The crash on a roundabout killed 10 people. The driver, Brett Button, was sentenced to 32 years' jail, with a non-parole period of 24 years. Survivors and families say failures in medical reporting, driver checks, seatbelt use and roundabout design also contributed. The NSW government has accepted or accepted in principle 21 recommendations relating to Transport for NSW.
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A new book documents women who endured violence during Indonesia's occupation of Timor-Leste. Among them is Maria de Fátima, who says she was arrested at Baucau's Hotel Flamboyan in 1975 and raped by Indonesian soldiers. She says she was abused for more than 20 years and had four children as a result. Her youngest daughter, Fernanda, learned only years later that her father was an Indonesian soldier. Timor-Leste's truth commission documented 853 cases of sexual violence, though advocates believe the real number is far higher. Survivors are still calling for a formal apology and reparations.
Sunbury will mark National Survivors’ Day with a morning tea and community gathering on Wednesday 28 October. Hosted by Just4Causes, the event from 11am to 3pm at the Hume Global Learning Centre will bring survivors, advocates, support organisations and community representatives together. Six guest speakers will address attendees, including National Survivors’ Foundation chief executive Clare Leaney and Sunbury local Paul Levey, who will share his experience of surviving abuse by a paedophile priest. Organiser Tracie M Oldham said sexual abuse remains a deeply taboo subject, particularly in regional communities.
A cross-party parliamentary committee has recommended that the national redress scheme for child sexual abuse survivors stay open until all applications are processed. The committee has called for the application deadline to move from June 30 2027 to December 31 2027, and for the scheme's closure date to be extended beyond June 2028. ABC analysis indicates that at current processing rates, thousands of claims would not be resolved by the scheduled closure. Committee chair Jodie Belyea, a survivor of abuse, said an extension is urgent.
