Lydia Oosterhoff: Cooper Legal Senior Associate on the lack of redress with the Government's abuse-in-care apology

There's disappointment the Government's abuse-in-care apology doesn't come with a financial redress scheme.  

A Royal Commission report estimates 200,000 people have experienced harm in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019.  

The report has called for urgent financial redress, but the Government says it will not decide on a system until early next year. 

Cooper Legal Senior Associate Lydia Oosterhoff, who represents the survivors, told Mike Hosking that the Government's apology will mean nothing unless it signals a commitment to change. 

She called the announcements yesterday “smoke and mirrors” and said it is just a “drop in the bucket” of the work that needs to be done. 

“The changes, I think, are deflecting from what the survivors have been calling for months now, which is redress and change.” 

Oosterhoof said the lack of redress today “quite upset” her clients and she believes the Government has had plenty of time to work on it. 

“They have had the interim redress reports since December 2021, so they have had nearly three years to prepare for this.” 

On the announcement by Children’s Minister Karen Chhour, she also said it was a “distraction” from the real issues. 

“There was not one change to the law that was about keeping children safe in the home.” 

Oosternhoof believed she would continue this fight for decades if the pace of progress persists. 

“This is not incremental change, this is not going to keep children safe.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
To a day of national apology to survivors of abuse
and care. Of course, the compensation still to be sought of,
but today a significant start, you would have thought. Cooper
Legal is representing more than sixteen hundred affected clients. Senior
Associated Senior Associate Lydia Ostahoff is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Lydia morning, good morning, thanks for having me on, not.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
At all the people you represent.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
What's the feeling so far, Well, there's obviously it is
the monumental day, so it's the recognition of that and
we've come a long way to get to where we are.
But there's also in a sense of apprehension because an
apology means nothing if it doesn't come with a commitment
to change, and so our clients they want the government

(00:42):
to use this apology to show how this will not
happen in the future. And now we know that there's
not going to be an announcement about redress today. So
unfortunately that's been quite an upset for our clients because
that was what they were open for.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Was it unrealistic to expect? I mean, this is a
massive thing. Is it unrealistic to it to I mean,
given an apology is easier to deliver literally, is it
unrealistic to expect, you know, here's a check and here's
how we're going to do it. I mean, this takes
time and you want to do it right, don't you?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yes? And I think what we've got to realize is, yes,
the final report was tabled in Parliament in July, but
the government, and this is successive government, have had the
interim redress reports since December twenty twenty one, so went
to we nearly three years that that've had to try
and prepare for a redress scheme. So I think trying
to look at the July date is actually keewing dates

(01:38):
a little bit. So we've had quite a lot of
time and that time hasn't been used.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
The lawd changes announced yesterday do they help? Are they
significant or not?

Speaker 2 (01:47):
To be honest with you, Mike, I think they're a
bit of smoke and mirriage, a bit of a distraction. Really,
children can still be scanner searched, there up searching. Yes,
we've been saying for years that's that's not a good thing.
But really the changes I think are deflecting from what

(02:09):
survivors have been calling for for months now, which is
redress and change and I think this is just a
drop in the bucket and it's not really going to
And even that, if you look at the press release
that went out, Minister chaur said this was about keeping
children safe within the home. There was not one change
to the law the children safe within the home. It

(02:30):
was about use justice residences, it was about records, it
was about disabled adults. How is that talking about children
keeping children safe in the home. I really just think
that was a distraction.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Do you think we're going to get closure? How many
years down the track do you think it'll be I
can get you back on this program and go We're done,
it's finished, everyone's happy. Or do you think that will
never happen.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
I'd love to say that, Yes, three years from now,
you can get me on the program and say, Mike,
I've got no work. I'm starting a new area of law.
I would love that. But unfortunately, at the moment, at
the rate that we're going, I think we're going to
be seeing this for the next decades. And I hate
to say that, but with small steps like what we

(03:15):
saw yesterday, that's not incremental change. That is not going
to keep children safe.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Appreciate you time very much. Lydia Ostaff who's there Cooper
Legal Senior Association. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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