Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was indicating, it is also the 10th anniversary of the Bringing them home report into the stolen generations. As a nation, we should acknowledge the deep personal grief inflicted on the individual children and their families and, to that end, make a formal apology. A formal apology is the just and decent thing to do. If we acknowledge wrongs and assess honestly what needs to be done, we can, as a nation, move forward.

If reconciliation is to be achieved, we must deal with both its symbolism and its substance. Saying ‘sorry’ is a very powerful symbol. But symbolism without substance is without meaning. That is why, as a nation and on a bipartisan basis, we should commit to righting the wrongs that still face our Indigenous communities. Above all else, I would point out that it is shameful that in a modern, prosperous society like ours an Indigenous child born in Australia today can expect to die 17 years before a non-Indigenous child will. We need to recapture the spirit that led to the outcomes of the 1967 referendum and recognise that unfinished business and disadvantage still need to be redressed.