John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I rise briefly in this debate to support the motion of sorrow that has been passed in this chamber today. I feel that the motion itself is terribly important, because it shows a solidarity with Indigenous people. I use the word ‘solidarity’ very, very carefully, because it is something that people who have known a dispossession come to grips with when they know that those who have possessions are as one with them. I am sure that that is the thrust of what is being put here in this chamber today and what has been put here in the past—that we are at one, feeling a solidarity with our Indigenous Australians who have been so bereft of a real comfort over a long period of time because of many injustices that have been placed upon them. Therefore, I believe that this is an important step in the healing process of this nation.

Of course I support the comments of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Government in the Senate in this particular debate. I want to refer in particular to the words of the Prime Minister when he referred to the stolen generations as human beings, not an intellectual curiosity. He went on to say they were ‘human beings deeply damaged by the decision of parliaments and governments’. That is something that has not been focused on, in my view. We are dealing with humanity. We are dealing with human beings who are no different from any of the rest of us. The major difference may well be the colour of their skin. The major difference may well be their opportunity. The major difference may well be their life expectancy. The major difference may well be the hurt that they have suffered. But the reality is that they are human beings and, as such, need to be seen to be treated with the dignity that human beings deserve.

I believe that it is a fundamental right of every individual human being, and no more or no less for our Indigenous Australians, to have the right to that dignity as well, and that that right to that dignity is expressed through the solidarity of the resolution that was passed in the other chamber and this chamber today. That dignity should prevail through the various stages of life. It is not something that is just gained at birth, it is not something gained in youth and it is not something gained simply at the end of life. It is something that is a continuum through life. Of course, with much of the injustice that many of our Indigenous Australians have suffered, they have not had the opportunity to experience the dignity of life that they deserve.

I am not seeking to expand on the apology as a statement as such, because I believe it enunciates the heartfelt and strong sorrow that many of us have experienced in this country for a long time. I share that sorrow and I wholly endorse the apology as adopted by our parliament. I see it, as others have said, as a positive way forward on reconciliation. To express one’s sorrow is important indeed, but then the next step, having expressed one’s sorrow, is not to go back and repeat the errors of your ways. As they say, you do not sin anymore. I think that that is the significance of the statement and the significance of the process: that, having recognised our own inadequacies, we have said that we are sorry. It is a sorrow that comes from within the heart, because if one does not have that then the sorrow is shallow indeed. I think the expressions that I have heard in this debate on the issue in general show that the sorrow is deep and heartfelt, and that people genuinely do not want to see a repeat of what has happened previously. I believe that the solidarity shown by the parliament of Australia, and other parliaments before us in the states, will give hope to our Indigenous Australians that there is a future, and a bright future, where their dignity will be respected and will grow because of the respect that we show to each other as human beings. I commend the recommendation of the Senate and I support it fully.