Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the apology that was given in an extremely bipartisan way by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and by many members on both sides of this parliament. I will say nothing about the previous contribution to this debate other than that I am disappointed in the tone and the nature of that contribution. In relation to the apology, I, like many other members of this House, have had constituents who have been gravely affected by the care that they had as children. These are people who were separated from their parents for one reason or another. Some came from the UK as child migrants and lived in very appalling, uncaring institutions that were run by the state government or privately. The impact that that had on their lives was enormous. I have had people sit in my office and cry about the treatment they have had. I have had people say to me in relation to this apology: ‘The thing that is special about it is that it is a starting point. The apology actually recognises that our lives were impacted on in such a grave and detrimental way.’

My thoughts go back to one of my constituents on the Central Coast who came to Australia as a child migrant. His story has been told time and time again this week by others who were in similar situations. They thought they were going for a holiday somewhere. They thought that their parents were no longer living. They went to another country and then lived in institutions. When they finally went out into the world they did not have the personal skills that they needed to survive. They worked through so many issues. Eventually they married and had their own families, which in itself put in place a number of challenges. Finally, they found out that they did have a mother and they did have sisters. This constituent travelled to the UK. Unfortunately, he did not meet his mother, but he met his siblings, and that was very special to him.

Another of my constituents was brought up in an institution. His mother died and his father could not look after the children so he put them in an institution. He told me how he was always the smallest. When it came to food he missed out every time. He told me about the lack of care and compassion and about the brutality of living in that institution. That story has been told by numerous members in this parliament.

Monday was a very special day. You could see just how important this apology was to all the people who gathered in the Great Hall. It was very moving. You could see staff from FaHCSIA handing tissues to the people who were there to receive the apology.

I would like to put on the record my support for this apology, my support for an unconditional apology, my support for a bipartisan policy and my support for seeing this as a start for the rest of the people who have been affected by this dreadful period in our history. I am absolutely committed to see that this never happens again.

In conclusion, I would like to put on the record my thanks to Origins for the fine work that they have done over the years in reuniting families that have been separated—people like my constituent Sue and her daughter. Sue had her daughter when she was 16 and was forced to give her up. The child moved from foster parent to institution and had a very disturbed life. She suffered all the types of things that are mentioned in this apology. It was only through the efforts of Origins that she was reunited with the daughter that she had not even seen. The work that Origins do is invaluable and they should be congratulated for the contribution they have made to alleviate the pain of so many Australians. This is a fine apology, and I am pleased to be associated with it.

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