Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd;
Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson;
the Minister for Indigenous Affairs,
the Hon Jenny Macklin;
former Prime Ministers,
Professor Bruce Wilson representing
the late Sir Ronald Wilson,
Stolen Generations patrons
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue
and Bobby Randall,
Chair of the National Sorry Day Committee
Helen Moran,
and Chair of the Stolen Generations Alliance
Christine King
Ministers,
members of the Stolen Generations
and your families,
my Indigenous brothers and sisters;
and distinguished guests
from around Australia and overseas.
May I begin by acknowledging
the Ngunnawal peoples,
the traditional owners of the land
where we meet today
and pay my respects to you
and to your elders.
I have been asked by
the National Sorry Day Committee
and the Stolen Generations Alliance,
the two national bodies
that represent the Stolen Generations
and their families,
to respond to the Parliamentary Apology
and to talk briefly about
the importance of today’s events.
I am deeply honoured to be
Entrusted with this responsibility
and to participate in today’s proceedings.
I am particularly honoured to do so
in my capacity as Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander
Social Justice Commissioner at the
Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission.
The inaugural Social Justice Commissioner,
Professor Mick Dodson,
was the co-commissioner
of the national inquiry,
along with the then President,
the late Sir Ronald Wilson,
that culminated in
the Bringing The Home report.
The next Social Justice Commissioner,
Dr Bill Jonas, contributed greatly
to the understanding of the report
and the importance of its meaning.
Today is an historic day.
It’s the day our leaders,
across the political spectrum,
have chosen dignity,
hope and respect,
as the guiding principles
for the relationship
with our first nation’s peoples.
Through one direct act,
Parliament has acknowledged
the existence and the impacts
of the past policies and practices
of forcibly removing
Indigenous children from their families.
And by doing so, has paid respect
to the Stolen Generations.
For their suffering and their loss.
For their resilience.
And ultimately, for their dignity.
Let me tell you what
this apology means to me.
For many years, my family has been
searching in vain to find information
about my great-grandmother
on my father's side,
who was taken
at the turn of the 20th Century.
Recently, Link Up in Darwin
located some information in the Archives.
In a document titled
“List of half-castes in the NT,”
dated 2 December 1899,
a government official named George Thompson
wrote the following
about my great-grandmother.
Her name was May.
And he wrote,
"Half-caste May is a well grown girl,
is living with her mother
in the black’s camp at Woolwonga.
Her mother will not part with her,
she mixes up a great deal
with the Chinamen.
She only has a narga on."
My great-grandmother’s ordeal
was not un-common
and nor was the chilling account.
“Her mother will not part with her.”
This is not about black armband issue,
and it's not an issue of guilt.
It never was.
It is about belonging.
The introductory words
of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report
reminds us of this.
It reads,
“...the past is very much with us today,
in the continuing devastation
of the lives of Indigenous Australians.
That devastation cannot be addressed
unless the whole community listens
with an open heart and mind
to the stories of what has happened
in the past and,
having listened and understood,
commits itself to reconciliation.
By acknowledging and paying respect,
Parliament has now laid the foundations
for healing to take place
and for a reconciled Australia
in which everyone belongs.
For today is not just about
the Stolen Generations,
it is about all Australians.
Today’s actions enable
every single one of us
to move forward together,
with joint aspirations and a national story
that contains a shared past and future.
It is a matter of great sadness
that the experiences of
the Stolen Generations
have been used as a source of division
among the Australian community
since the release of the
Bringing Them Home report.
There are many individuals
who have made their name
as Stolen Generations deniers
and rebuffers.
This vitriol has re-traumatized
many of the Stolen Generations.
It has cast doubts on the integrity
of many individuals,
and ultimately has denied
Indigenous people basic human dignity
and decency.
These are not traits associated
with ‘the Australian way.’
Nor is it any way
to respond to human tragedy.
Let us feel proud that we are now facing
the difficult and dark experience
from our past
in order to move on.
Let us also feel proud that,
as a nation,
we respect our fellow citizens,
we care for their plight
and we offer our hands in friendship
so that we may all enjoy
the bounty of this great nation.
Prime Minister, can I thank you
for your leadership on this issue
and for the support and compassion
of your Minister, Jenny Macklin.
It is far more difficult to try
and unite people than to divide them.
Your efforts should be praised universally
for attempting to create a bridge
between the many diverse elements of our society.
To the leader of the Opposition,
can I also acknowledge your leadership.
It is of great significance that this motion
was passed with bipartisan support.
For too long, Indigenous peoples
have been used as a political football.
More often than not,
this has promoted fear,
misunderstanding, intolerance and inaction.
And it's that inaction
that we have to change.
And to all Parliamentarians,
I say, let today be a new beginning,
not an end point.
Last month, I facilitated discussions
between the government
and Stolen Generations groups
about the apology.
The overwhelming message
from those meetings
was that this should be seen
as the first step in a partnership.
The Stolen Generations have needs
that have yet to be met,
mainly due to under-funding
of Link Ups and other support organisations.
There remains a pressing need
for specific assistance
tailored to the particular circumstances of
those forcibly removed from their families.
And there are many recommendations
of the Bringing Them Home report
that have not been implemented.
In fact, there has been little attempt
to even consider many
of these recommendations
at the federal or state level
in recent years,
or for them to be implemented systematically
across all jurisdictions.
To the Premiers and state and territory
government representatives here today,
we urge you to join the partnership
to address the unfinished business.
Prime Minister, I mentioned earlier
that it is harder to try and unite people
than it is to divide them.
This is because if people have hope.
And people that do hope,
also have expectations.
The consultations between your government
and Stolen Generations groups
identified a number of elements
to build upon from today.
These include committing to a partnership
with Stolen Generations groups,
as well as Link Ups
and other service providers,
with ongoing consultation and participation;
committing to a comprehensive
government response
to the needs of the Stolen Generations,
as identified in
the Bringing Them Home report;
and adopting a whole-of-government approach,
across all departments and across 
all governments, to achieve this.
And I was heartened to hear
that there is bipartisan support
for the commission that you are proposing.
And there is hope that today’s apology
can create the impetus
for a renewed partnership
between the federal government
and state and territory governments
to fully implement the recommendations
of the Bringing Them Home report.
It is timely that the federal government
takes a leadership role
in developing a national process
to make this happen.
Finally, can I acknowledge the support
of the many millions of
non-Indigenous Australians
who have walked with us
on the path of reconciliation and justice,
and can I pay tribute to the members
of the Stolen Generations,
for your incredible resilience,
stoicism and dignity
in the face of untold suffering.
Let your healing begin,
and the healing of the nation, begin.
Thank you.
