News & Politics - Australian PM Kevin Rudd says "Sorry" to Indigenous Australians

Phee · 02-13-2008, 11:51 PM

Can't believe there's no thread for this yet! It's gonna go down as one of the biggest events in Australian history.

For those who don't know, in a nutshell, for decades up until '69, indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, (often as babies ripped from the arms of their crying mothers). It was carried out by the governement and welfare organisations. Those children came to be known as the Stolen Generation.

In recent years, the "Sorry" debate has raged on. Indigenous Australians have wanted a formal apology from the PM, as an aknowledgment of the wrongs commited by the previous governements, (and frankly, I don't think it was an un-reasonable request at all).

Our last PM, John Howard, stanchly opposed ever saying "Sorry".

Our recently elected new PM, Kevin Rudd, made it his first order of business on the second day of the sitting of the new Parliament yesterday. Hopefully now that it's been said, it'll bridge the gap between the government and the indigenous population, and they'll be able to better work together to improve the Aboriginal communities that still remain today.

Kevin Rudd says sorry

Quote:

The text of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech to Parliament.

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.

There's a vid of that first part of the speech here.
The rest of the speech can be read here, (read into pages two and three for a description of how the children were taken and what happened to them), and the whole speech is in several parts on youtube if anyone wants to watch the whole thing.

Cheeezy · 02-15-2008, 05:49 AM

This should have been done many years ago... however I'm glad Kevin Rudd apoligized

Cheeezy · 02-15-2008, 06:01 AM

Edit: Sorry! I have no idea what the hell just happened...

-Kelly- · 02-24-2008, 07:28 AM

It's about time someone did it and he did it

migamoo · 02-25-2008, 08:32 AM

Okay, I'm confused, why did this happen? The stolen generation, I mean.


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