Apology: An essential first step
- Published on 13/02/2008
AFP
We welcome the formal apology to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The apology will help to develop respect and establish meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and is essential to reconciliation.
The Government and Opposition's decision to take a bipartisan approach to addressing the serious human rights violations of Indigenous Australians is also very welcome. We support the approach which places indigenous human rights above politics and which aims to:
- provide every indigenous four year old in a remote community with early childhood education within five years
- halve the gap between white and black Australia in literacy and numeracy within a decade
- halve the infant mortality rates within a generation
- close the life expectancy gap
While health and education are critical issues, they should be viewed as one part of a broader approach to reparation. The Stolen Generations have a right to restitution, rehabilitation, guarantees against repetition and compensation. These remedies are covered in the 1997 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) report Bringing Them Home. We continue to call on the Australian Government to implement these recommendations.
Background
HREOC outlined 54 recommendations in the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, as a result of its enquiry into the removal of Indigenous children from their families. It found between 1 in 10 and 3 in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from between 1910 and 1970, and many were sexually, physically and mentally abused.
The report's recommendations are supported by international law which provides that where a person's human rights have been violated, they must have access to an 'effective remedy' (Article 2(3) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
Your say
Use the comments below to tell us your reaction to the Prime Minister's apology and how you think it will impact all Australians
Further Information
- Stolen Generations Alliance
- National Sorry Day Committee
- Bringing Them Home report
- Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)
- Close The Gap
Comments
Comments are submitted by members of the public and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Amnesty International Australia. If you find a comment objectionable please contact the web editor.
We were deeply moved by the apology by Kevin Rudd. We just hope that this leads to real reconcilliation for everyone. Aboriginals deserve our respect and admiration for their patience in waiting for an acknowledgement of their pain and acknowledgement to their very exsistance and as a people as the original owners of this land we call Australia. We hope this is a step forward for all of us to be more compassionate, understanding each others pain, less judgemental and condescending of others differences.
comment by:
Kim & Roslyn Ambrose
27/02/2008
11:13 AM
Kevin Rudd has said that he will not give the Aboriginal people money possibly because it will be wasted.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
27/02/2008
12:01 AM
The apology was heartfelt and inspiring. I was in tears listening to the Prime Minister apologise for our disgraceful treatment of the Aboriginal people. My only concern is that it be followed up by action. The living standards, especially in health and education, of the aboriginal people continues to be a disgrace to our government and to all of us and needs to be addressesed now.
comment by:
Yanoula Fouras
26/02/2008
09:37 AM
we must now make sure that the Government keeps its promise of a better education for the Aboriginal people
Many Aboriginals have already made their way in life through sheer guts and determination. We can now make sure that the rest do the same thing as well.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
25/02/2008
08:16 PM
The apology was a sign of respect from the Federal Government to Aboriginal people. However even though wrods are the first step, the next step is what all Indigenous Australians are waiting for. That is Action. Is the Government going to ensure that our people will get a high standard of education in remote communities? And be treated as first class citizens? ACTIONS SPEAK MORE THAN WORDS. That’s when we will know whether the Fed Gov reallyb mean sorry.
comment by:
Anthea Step
25/02/2008
12:39 PM
Do some people think that not saying sorry would make the Aboriginal people forget the slaughter, rape and genocide of innocent people feel better.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
23/02/2008
07:42 PM
i think that it is a shame that some people did not want Kevin Rudd, to apologise for the abuse etc of Aboriginal people. Do people think that rape and genocide is alright.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
23/02/2008
07:38 PM
As I said in a previous comment, what went on in our country’s early days concerning the Aboriginals was DISGUSTING!!! What we’re doing now is in no way going to be able to fix the past. It has already happened. Nobody’s going to be able to just turn the clock back. What we have to do is look towards the future, hopefully one of peace and prosperity. All we can do is hope that by at least acknowledging the past, we have helped the victims of the Stolen Generation and all Aborigines to move on.
comment by:
Katie
23/02/2008
02:50 PM
However, what few people are warning is the risk of taking a position where white people are “fixing” the problems of black people. The reasons for systematic poverty in indigenous communities are not an inherent deficiency among indigenous people, but a disempowerment of indigenous people through appropriation of lands, homogenisation of culture, and structural discrimination which continues today.
If we are to end inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Australia, we need to be empowering indigenous people to make the decisions that affect their own communities, and we need to stem the loss of Aboriginal language, culture and identity. No lasting progress can be made by a joint parliamentary commission of white parliamentarians, or while we continue to push the idea that Aboriginal people in communities that speak Aboriginal languages should learn English while English-speaking people in Aboriginal people are not required to learn Aboriginal languages.
An apology was way overdue, and this apology was sincere, heartfelt and tangible.
On the other hand, I am worried that many commentators in the media and many organisations have depicted this apology as the end of a chapter, the solution to the issue.
I’m also worried about the words that were missing from the entire debate and the apology itself - self-determination.
There are many voices calling for “closing the gap” and for “fixing” the problems of health, education, housing, etc. And rightly so - the appalling lack of infrastructure and systematic poverty in indigenous communities is evidence of structural discrimination, whether it be intentional or unintentional.
Brendan Nelson as well as Hohn Howard should be utterly disgusted with their stiff upper lip attitude towards the Aboriginal People. The Aboriginal people are not second class citizens, never have been and never will be.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
22/02/2008
11:40 PM
i went to school in the 70!s with an Aboriginal girl who came to my home town infostercare, she was raped by her foster father. i never forgot her, dont know where she is now and wish that i did. That is why i am proud of the Governments apology.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
22/02/2008
11:34 PM
i do not agree with compensation. no amount of money can ever compensate for the genocide, rape or abuse that white Australians inflicted on the Aboriginal people.
comment by:
maryellen flynn.
22/02/2008
11:27 PM
we pushed drunken abuse on them, rape and genocide during the Second War, so why is it there fault? It is ours not theirs therefore we must now start the healing process and make sure that these things do not happen again.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
22/02/2008
11:21 PM
In spite of what Brendan Nelson and others may believe, good intentions were not the beginning of the Stolen Generation. A O Neville’s quotes from the Aboriginal Welfare Conference of the Commonwealth in 1937 symbolises everything the Stolen Generation stood for:
“It is however, our intention to undertake the training and education of these children (Aboriginal children) so that they may be absorbed into the general community...”
“Are we going to have a population of 1,00,000 blacks in the Commonwealth, or are we going to merge them into our white community and eventually forget that there ever were any Aborigines in Australia.”
The willingness to wipe out Aboriginal people is certainly worthy of an apology and Mr Rudd has finally done so.
Thankfully the voice of Australia who fail to recognise the inherent humanity of Aboriginal people is now drowned out by the Australians who have compassion and understanding standing alongside a PM who is a true leader.
I think sorry was well overdue. Nobody should have to go through what our indigenous Australians went through. Not to take away from their plight, but teenage mothers had their babies ripped away from them too as did others for various reasons of the Government on the day. All I’m saying is that everyone knows somone who has suffered or have actually suffered themselves. Time to help those who are still suffering and I think free counselling might go a long way to start the healing. I’m not too sure about compensation in monetary terms (lots of other assistance/compensation can be given other than cash) however if a compensation fund does eventuate, I don’t think there should be compensation for just indigenous peoples as that would be discrimination. I believe there should be compensation for all victims who had their children stolen, regardless of ther race, colour or creed (as per Western Australia) I am, you are, we are ALL Australian!!!
comment by:
Belinda Jones
22/02/2008
08:45 PM
A momentus occassion and I found it quite moving. Now to keep the momentum we need to not only accept and tolerate the Aboriginal Culture but celerbrate it as uniquely Australian. Time for all of Australia to tell the original Australians that we respect their culture and want to learn and immerse ourselves in it. Change “Australia Day” from 26th Jan. to either 13th Feb. or 27th May (Referendum 1967). As an Australian Born from two English parents I am proud of the indigenous people of my country.
comment by:
Tony
22/02/2008
06:49 AM
Anyone who has been abused deserves not only an apology, but compensation. Society owes its members a duty of care. Taking children from their parents is almost never right, especially where those parents love their children. That such was government policy is appalling and anyone who doesn’t understand that needs a better education.
I commented, too. With more understanding, methinks.
comment by:
Zoe
22/02/2008
02:58 AM
hopefully australia’s “sorry” will have a positive effect on the indiginous community, hopefully it will impact on they’re sense of belonging and strengthen our country’s unity. i can only hope because this huge wait for a simple apology has caused a lot of pain and racist anger between both euro/australians and aborigines. i’m so happy australia has taken this step forward to unify all of it’s inhabitants.
comment by:
Becky D
22/02/2008
12:32 AM
i cried when the apology was made, it was a long time coming lets hope that the healing process can now begin.
comment by:
maryellen flynn
21/02/2008
08:50 PM
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