Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners on whose country we are meeting today. I would also like to acknowledge all traditional owners and elders across our country. I want to thank Matilda House and her delegation for the generosity of their welcome that we received yesterday. In doing so, I want to congratulate all the people who were involved in that moving ceremony that we witnessed. As Senator Boyce said, this has been on the cards for a very long time and it is wonderful that it has finally become a part of the ceremony of the opening of parliament in this place. I was particularly pleased to hear the Leader of the Opposition commit to continuing with the welcome to country ceremony into the future.

Yesterday heralded a new dawn for relations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians, and that has been built on today. It is an understatement, in my view, to say that today is a historic day for all Australians. The celebration that this parliament has seen throughout today is something that will not be forgotten for a very long time—the laughter and the tears; the emotion; and the people, Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians, coming together to celebrate an important day in the history of our country. It gives me enormous pride and a sense of relief today to wholeheartedly support the motion that has been carried unanimously in the Senate and the House today. I commend the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, for all of their efforts to ensure that Indigenous people were consulted about the words in this motion and for planning such a wonderful day here in Canberra. I also agree that today’s motion of apology is not about us as senators and members of parliament. It is a day for Indigenous people in particular and a day for all Australians to come together to right past wrongs.

The words of the motion are very important. I encourage all Australians to take the time to read them, to know what they mean and to know personally of the intent behind them. The words are designed to, firstly, recognise the indisputable fact that past actions instigated and/or sanctioned by parliaments and governments resulted in many thousands—we do not actually know the number, but many thousands—of Indigenous children being taken from their mothers and their families because of their race. And that is the key. That is the very significant difference that we need to remember in this debate today. It was because they were black that they were taken. And that is the sorrow that they live with. The words are designed to show that we, as non-Indigenous Australians, want to say that we are sorry for what occurred. As a mother I cannot understand, I cannot imagine the abject loss, the emptiness, that mothers who had their children stolen endured—endured for the rest of their lives in many, many cases. I cannot contemplate the fear that people lived with, waiting for the welfare, hiding their children, as we know they did. The words are drafted to show that we understand the toll that the practices of forced removal, of so-called fostering, of being placed into unpaid labour, of institutionalisation, have wreaked on Indigenous Australians. The words are drafted to make it clear that we know that much has to be done to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The tenor of the Prime Minister’s speech and those of many others, including the Leader of the Opposition’s, in this and the other place, has been sincere and heartfelt. Australians can take heart from the leadership that has been shown today that we as a nation have taken a very large step towards a reconciled Australia.

In May 1997 I was fortunate to be in attendance at the National Reconciliation Convention. At the end of that convention—a very emotionally up and down meeting—Pat Dodson invited us to walk with him on the road to reconciliation. What we have witnessed today restarts that process of reconciliation anew. I have talked about what the words in the motion say. I think it is also important to talk about what the words do not say. The words do not apportion blame. They do not encourage people to feel guilt. There is nowhere in those words that tries to point a finger at anyone, at any group or any particular government action. There would be no purpose in doing so. The words do not apportion blame nor do they encourage guilt. The words do not seek to advance the value of symbolism above the real and obvious need for improved outcomes in terms of health, education and employment for Indigenous people. It is not one or the other. It is not symbolism or services and programs; it is both. Of course it is both. And that is how it should be. We need as a nation to lay down a marker, to acknowledge the horrifying, unthinkable truth of the stolen generation era and to sincerely apologise. And that is what we have done today.

This morning on the ABC AM program an Indigenous gentleman was speaking about how there are some non-Indigenous Australians who have an understanding of the experience of the stolen generation. He was referring to the child migrants as also being stolen—and that has been referred to in this place today. As we know through the Senate inquiry, along with the child migrants there are many other Australians who have been institutionalised, taken from their families and placed in institutions. I acknowledge the pain of the child migrants and of the so-called forgotten Australians today. I apologise too for the actions of governments that separated those children from their families. There is more to be done in that area as well.

In closing, I want to thank the many Indigenous Australians, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, mainly in North Queensland, who have shared their stories and lives with my family and me. I have felt welcome in their homes and in their communities. I am grateful for the generosity that has been shown to me and for the opportunity to understand better their lives and their culture. I say to those people—I cannot name them all—their generosity and openness has allowed us, my family, to have some understanding of the road that you walk.

I am always in awe of the patience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We know they waited for their vote, they waited for native title, they have waited for education and they have waited for health services. But today’s motion means that the wait for the apology to the stolen generation is now over. We are now once again on the path to reconciliation and on the path to closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. I wholeheartedly support the motion and commit to working to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia.