A redress scheme over forced adoption is being considered in Western Australia. but advocates are heartbroken over the lack of immediate action.
Mothers had their newborn babies ripped from them at birth under the historical practice, causing ongoing trauma for thousands of the women and their children, now adults, a parliamentary committee previously found.
The Cook government tabled its response to state parliament on Tuesday, saying it supported most of the 39 recommendations in the committee's report but did not commit to a redress scheme.
Instead, it will establish a reference group to help roll out the changes it is willing to back, including improved access to information, mental health support, and law changes around birth certificates.
Child Protection Minister Sabine Winton said the inquiry uncovered a system of secrecy and misuse of power by individuals and institutions that inflicted harm, undermined people's rights and silenced their voices.
"The profound impact of forced adoption has and continues to impinge upon many aspects of the lives of those affected, often creating a legacy of intergenerational trauma, loss and grief that persists despite their resilience," she said.
"The involvement of the government in forced adoption represents a significant failure by authorities and people in power to safeguard the parental rights of mothers and fathers."
Adoptee advocate Jennifer McRae was gutted by the response.
"Bitterly disappointed and shocked," she said.
"I really thought WA had the spine to go one up on Victoria and secure redress for adopted people and for mothers, but here we are fluffing around and not making any firm commitment."
Ms McRae said the WA government should commit to a redress scheme and correct the past wrongs.
"We can absolutely do the right thing for these people who've had their lives absolutely ruined by government policy," she said.
Louise Kirk, a mother who lost her son in 1976, said the government's reply was heartbreaking.
"We haven't progressed ... it's like all of what happened back then, in the 70s, 60s, 50s, is being supported by that," she said of the response.
"It's not being fixed up ... we're not being heard."
Survivors say a redress scheme would involve a formal apology from the institutions involved in forced adoptions, ongoing support services and compensation.
"To make up for what they lost in their life because of their adoption, and it needs to be generous," Ms McRae said.
"These are lives that have been damaged by this policy."
The Legislative Council inquiry also found unmarried pregnant women were coerced into putting their babies up for adoption against their will and information was withheld from fathers and grandparents.
Many women staying in private institutions leading up to their births experienced "horrific treatment", were forced into unpaid work, psychologically abused and kept isolated, the parliamentary report revealed.
The practice was present among both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and meant their babies were institutionalised for days, weeks or months.
Some children were placed for adoption before any consent was provided and prospective parents were not vetted or inadequately assessed.
Babies forcefully removed had their identities wiped, with birth certificates replaced with ones stating they were the biological children of their adoptive parents.
WA was the first jurisdiction to apologise for forced adoptions in 2010, acknowledging the injustice faced by unmarried mothers and their children.
Adoption within the state started becoming socially desirable from the 1940s and peaked in the 1970s, with children considered a "blank slate" that could be redeemed if they were raised in the "right" environment.
