Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Historic Day

Kevin Rudd 13/2/2008
"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and
governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these
our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their
descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the
breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a
proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be
received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the
nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of
our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to
a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must
never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous
and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life
expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring
problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal
partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the
next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."


Paul Keating:
"A country has always got to look for its golden threads and when we start looking for the black threads you lose your way," he said. "We lost our way for a decade looking for black threads. What is important is that when policy cut across the human spirit we are always in for misery and as a consequence the stolen generation was a cut right across the spirit of those people and the soul of the country."

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