14th Anniversary of the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples

On 14 February, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP spoke to the House of Representatives to commemorate the anniversary of the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples delivered on 13 February 2008, by then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

On that occasion, Prime Minister Rudd apologised on behalf of the Australian Government to the Stolen Generations – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by successive colonial and Australian governments.

The speech was delivered in a televised statement to both Houses of Parliament and to members of the Stolen Generations present in the chamber.

Today, Minister Wyatt spoke of that historic occasion.

‘The Apology stopped the nation, and asked all Australians to imagine that feeling of loss, and collectively affirm that what happened should never have happened,’ Minister Wyatt said.

He spoke of his own family’s experience and the pain they suffered.

‘I continue to tell my story, and my mother’s – the story of how she spent years in Roelands Mission near Bunbury in Western Australia. How she and her nine brothers and sisters were taken from their parents, and split between three different missions, hundreds of miles apart,’ he said.

‘It’s a story I’ve heard from other survivors.’

Minister Wyatt spoke about the Kinchela Boys Home and about meeting with some of its residents the day before, residents who were not called by their name at the time, but by a number.

‘We yarned. And shared our truths. The truth about what happened at Kinchela,’ he said.

‘The trauma experienced is, for some, unspeakable. For others, telling their story continues to be an important part of their healing. This is truth-telling. It’s personal. Raw. Within living memory. It’s a truth that we should never forget.’

The minister spoke about the government’s programs and their role in empowering Indigenous Australians. Finally, he finished his speech on a positive and determined note.

‘Our people must be empowered to engage with parliament and government, and to follow in the footsteps of Neville Bonner, as I have done,’ Minister Wyatt said.

‘In federal parliament, state and territory parliaments, and local governments – we must work together, and in partnership.’

‘This Parliament said sorry 14 years ago, and since that day we have strived to meet those words with actions -  we will not always get it right, but the more we listen, the more we engage, the more we appreciate – the better our actions and outcomes will be.’

Minister Wyatt’s speech was preceded by a speech on the same subject by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.