Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I say, with the indulgence of the chamber, that I have very little voice left, but I am quite determined to use what I have left to put on the record of this place my support for the extension of the apology to the stolen generation that occurred last Wednesday on behalf of the parliament.

I cannot help but feel that last Wednesday was a moment in my parliamentary career that will never be surpassed. It was certainly a wonderful feeling to win government and to be able to implement the programs that I know so many of my colleagues and the general public had been hoping would become the story of this nation. But, despite the level of pleasure I felt in that, it still did not come close to the feeling that was in the chamber on Wednesday when finally, more than 10 years after the tabling of the Bringing them home report, the parliament of this nation extended an apology to the stolen generation. I think what was so profound about it was the fact that there are very few things more powerful in life than to say sorry. Sometimes we do it glibly and sometimes we devalue the word ‘sorry’, but saying sorry is one of the most powerful things we can do as one individual to another or as a government to a people.

By saying sorry, you do not ask yourself the question: how does this affect me? You ask yourself the question: how does doing this affect you? By saying sorry, you do not ask yourself: what does this cost me? You ask yourself: what will not doing this cost you? I think the story of our Indigenous people has made it very, very clear to us that the power of extending that sorry to them cost us very little and meant a terribly great deal to them. The faces in the chamber and those that we saw on the evening news in tears or with smiles of joy demonstrated visibly how powerfully important the extension of that apology was.

I speak mainly as a mother in this chamber. As the member for Cunningham, I am going to use my time to put forward the words of my own constituents on the extension of the apology. But I would just like to briefly talk about my feelings as a mother. I do this because I cannot understand people who extend a justification for the removal of Aboriginal children with an argument that says: but look what they achieved in their life, look at the improvements they made, look at the education or training they got.

There is no doubt that many Aboriginal people who were removed from their families and placed into other forms of care may indeed have experienced an education or an opportunity that gave them new avenues in their life. But to say that the price of losing your family is worth that, I find incomprehensible—absolutely incomprehensible. I have a 23-year-old son who is in London and I am missing him terribly and I had the great privilege of 22 years of his life, having him there every day. I cannot begin to imagine how I would have felt if a truck had rolled into my town when he was four, five, six or seven to take him away and I was never to see him again. I cannot imagine the incomprehensible damage that would have done to my life and the grief and suffering that would have been inflicted on our family—and yet this is what happened to 10 to 30 per cent of Aboriginal young people and children, up to 50,000 of them. It is wrong to say that that was purely an intervention to provide protection. There is no way that number of children needed to be removed purely on those grounds.

These were hard times; some of it was during the Depression. There were many working families who were out of work, who were having trouble maintaining their families and providing for their children. Indeed, in some cases they did have their children removed. But let us be clear: there was nowhere near the extent of removals that occurred in Aboriginal communities and there was no attempt to put the blame purely on their race. Clearly, these policies were about extinguishing the Aboriginal people. Because they were targeted at mixed blood children, that made the policies’ intentions very clear.

My former husband discovered that he was a direct descendant of Bill Ferguson, one of the original Aboriginal activists in New South Wales. I did not know that until he was in his thirties. The other thing that was stolen from generations of people by these policies was their heritage, because what they did was force many people of mixed race, of both Aboriginal and white heritage, to hide their Aboriginal heritage, to deny it for generations for fear that because of that simple mixed blood they would lose their children. So there is so much that was stolen because of these policies and it is so important we reach out. We do it through the apology and we do it through an ongoing commitment to make sure that Aboriginal people’s opportunities in our country are improved.

As I said, in the run-up to the extension of the apology in the parliament in the week since, I had at last count 122 emails from local constituents, one of which opposed the extension of the apology. The other 121 supported it. As their representative in this House, I want to place on the record some of the comments that I received from my local constituents. This is from James at North Wollongong:

Hi. I’m a Cunningham constituent and I’m writing to congratulate you on your re-election and to discuss the apology to the Stolen Generations that is in the news right now.

I’m glad to see the new Rudd government getting to work so quickly, particularly on this divisive issue that has been festering for so long.

However, I’m concerned that this apology will be purely symbolic. I agree that it is important to take the symbolic action of apologising to the Stolen Generations and reestablishing respectful relations. But I believe an authentic apology must be accompanied by good faith efforts at reparations.

In short Ms Bird, I’m asking you to push your party to adopt all of the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report, not just the symbolic ones.

Thanks for your time.

Carolyn at Figtree wrote:

Just like to say thanks for yours and the Labor party’s support of the apology to the Stolen Generation of Indigenous Australians but as you are aware this is only the first step and we want full implementation of the Bringing Them Home Report.

Chris at Thirroul wrote:

I am just writing you a short note to express my support for the apology to the stolen generation and the indigenous people of Australia that the government is proposing to make. Indeed, I think, speaking as someone who migrated from England 10 years ago (and is now an Australian citizen) that we should apologise for the wider devastation caused to indigenous peoples for the whole colonial adventure. Certainly I hope that the apology represents the start of a more sustained attempt by the government to address the inequalities and suffering experienced by indigenous peoples expressed for example in the report ‘Bringing Them Home’.

Joy from Corrimal wrote:

I’m sure you support this bill as well as I do. I just believe you need to know how many of us are behind you. As an adopted non-aboriginal child I know the emotional issues of what it is like to grow up with more questions than answers. To have been removed forcibly and put into a different ethnic family, no matter how well-meaning an advantage, would not compensate for the wrench from one’s own roots.

I urge you to urge other MPs to support this ground breaking apology. I also wonder if we are pressuring Britain to apologise for having treated Australian settlement and indigenous relations so differently from their treaties with the First Nation’s aboriginal people of Canada.

Colin at Figtree wrote:

I applaud the government’s decision to proceed with reconciliation with aboriginal people by agreeing to say ‘sorry’ for past atrocities and neglect. I look forward to seeing this process move on from ‘sorry’ and will be interested in your input and leadership at this time.

Justin at Austinmer wrote:

I heartily congratulate your party and leader for taking this important first step. I truly hope it’s the beginning of some momentous leadership on this cause and that you’ll be part of this. As we’ve all seen too recently, governments set the tone for leadership. Kevin Rudd is making a great start & I hope he rewards the faith shown in Labor’s fresh approach to government so well reflected at the last election.

Lucas from North Wollongong wrote:

I would just like to send a quick congratulations to your Government for ticking off my boxes so early in your term of Government. One of the biggest wishes I had for this country is for its people to recognise the position successive generations have put Indigenous Australians into so they can start to understand their plight.

Sorry is a big catalyst for this. I am proud that this Government has been strong enough to start the healing process. Well done.

This is from Robert of Woonona:

Well done for finally having the guts, and decency, to say sorry. As Elton John once sang, ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’!

Catherine at Mangerton wrote:

Congratulations on being in government. I wanted to express my respect and thanks for the apology that the Labor government has made on behalf of the people of Australia for the treatment of Aboriginal people documented in the ‘Bringing them Home’ Report.

However, this is only the first step. To show sincerity, that your government is one of substance, not just rhetoric, you must have full implementation of the recommendations outlined in the ‘Bringing them Home’ Report.

Andrew at Otford wrote:

I strongly support the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report, as well as the Deaths in Custody reports ...

I supported Labour knowing that you have a more progressive and sympathetic policy to Aboriginal Australians and I am greatly encouraged by your enthusiasm for an apology.

Amanda of Figtree wrote:

I am so thrilled that the stolen generation of Aboriginal people are finally going to have a formal apology from our federal government. Well done! I hope and pray this is only the beginning of doing all that is possible to compensate these people and deal with the issues of health and justice and reconciliation for all Australian Aboriginal people. Thanks again.

Greer from Figtree wrote:

It is with great relief that I realize that our government is taking the first steps to acknowledge the injustices done to Aboriginal people in the past. The action of saying sorry is a wonderful and powerful first step. I urge you to ensure that it is just the first of many steps of a powerful and healing journey for all Australians! We will be a greater place for making this journey.

Sarah of Austinmer wrote:

It’s really great the new government has finally taken on board the fundamental importance of an apology to members of the Stolen Generation.

I really want to congratulate you and your government for taking this important first step. I would hope, however, that this is just the beginning and that the government will seriously and comprehensively address the recommendations from the Bringing Them Home Report.

…            …            …

Very best wishes for the year of the rat. Let’s make it a truly great one!

Rosemary of Wollongong wrote:

Thank you that the Labor Party through Kevin Rudd’s leadership has decided to formally apologise to the Stolen Generation. This is an important first step in the official reconciliation process. With full implementation of the ‘Bringing Them Home’ Report, the future of Indigenous Australians will be much brighter. There are so many inequities to be addressed between white and Indigenous Australians—health, education, mortality, etc. Let it be borne out in our history that the Labor Party was the government who turned things around for the better!

Regina of Thirroul wrote:

Thank you for representing myself and my family when you apologise to the Aboriginal people of Australia.

Peter of Wollongong wrote:

I believe you are a person of principle. Think how history will judge us in 100 years time, when all the current preoccupation about neo-conservative economics is just a peculiar footnote in a textbook. Think about how our simple acknowledgement of a simple moral tenet, to say we are sorry for the sins of an earlier generation, no matter how well intentioned that may have been, and that we acknowledge they were wrong. We will just be telling the truth, our nation’s leaders were wrong, and we are big enough and honest enough to say so. Please thank Mr Rudd for actually being a leader, and not just being a poll driven pollie. This really makes me proud, especially after the last 11 years.

That is only a small sample of the 121 emails. I apologise to the rest of my constituents, who I was not able to put on the record, but I assure you the expressions were reflected in that sample. They all make the point, and I think it is profoundly important, that this is a bridge to a longer term commitment to closing the gap between Indigenous Australians and white Australians. There is no doubt that each of us in this place will be particularly keenly endorsing and supporting the current government’s commitments to closing that gap so that the apology issued last Wednesday will actually be the beginning of a whole new period for Indigenous Australians and an opportunity for them to take some of the many privileges that are their rights as citizens of this nation.

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