Australian Consulate-General Guangzhou
Media Release PD 03/09 16 February 2009
First Anniversary of the National Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples
On 13 February 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia moved an historic motion of Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples in the Australian Parliament.
Although the Apology was to all of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, it was directed particularly toward those Indigenous Australians who as children were forcibly removed from their families under laws and policies of previous governments – know as the Stolen Generations.
The Apology was a powerful act of reconciliation and national healing.
On the first anniversary of the National Apology, Australians again reflect on its significance and celebrate the unique, rich and diverse cultural heritage of the First Australians.
The Australian Government will mark this important day by reaffirming its commitment to engaging and partnering with Australia’s Indigenous people. The National Apology has been the first step in building that trust and good faith.
The Australian Government is also funding a range of activities to commemorate the historic anniversary of the Apology, including exhibitions, production of a special-edition calligraphy version of the Apology delivered by the Prime Minister, grants for grass-roots commemorative activities and the staging of a large community event to be held in Melbourne’s Federation Square.
In the year since Prime Minister Rudd delivered the National Apology, the Australian Government has held consultations with Indigenous people across the country on the establishment of a National Indigenous Representative Body to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a voice in national affairs.
Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments in Australia have also recently jointly committed A$4.6 billion in targeted initiatives for Indigenous Australians to drive reform in areas including early childhood development, health, housing, economic development and remote service delivery.
For further information, please contact Ms Willow Li, Research Assistant
(Tel: 020 3814 0186, E-mail: [email protected] )
Below is the text of the Apology to the Stolen Generations as delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at 9am (AEDT), Wednesday 13 February 2008:
Apology to the Stolen Generations
I move:
That 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.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, 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.