we say sorry
Full text of today's apology from the Australian Parliament to the Stolen Generations:
Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.
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Comments
What a honest, sincere apology. Refreshingly direct -- what spurred on this statement?
About 10 years ago, there was a National Inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families under Government policies of assimilation, often referred to as 'smoothing the dying pillow', many of which were based on the principles of eugenics. These children have become known as the Stolen Generation. The report suggested that at least 100,000 Aboriginal children were removed, with huge numbers of them suffering emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their 'carers'.
One of the key recommendations of the report, called Bringing Them Home, was that an apology be issued. The Report had been commissioned by a Federal Labor Government under Paul Keating, but my the time of its release, the conservative Liberals were in power with John Howard as PM. John Howard has always vehemently opposed the apology, and indeed was the only living Prime Minister not in Parliament yesterday.
So the apology has been ten years in the making. I am extremely proud that newly elected PM Kevin Rudd chose to make the apology on the first day of the new Parliament. Also for the first time, there was a 'welcome to country' for the opening of Parliament. I don't agree with everything Federal Labor and Kevin Rudd stand for, but the apology alone makes me glad to have be a member of the Labor Party and to have done my part in getting the ALP elected.