Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion before the chamber to take note of the apology. What a historic moment it is. This federal parliament has finally done what ought have been done many years ago, and that is to apologise to Indigenous Australians for this long chapter in our history where people were taken away from their families.

I want to speak briefly about some of the reasons why I believe this apology is so important. In my first speech to this place I spoke about the need for compassion and why compassion, to my way of thinking, ought be the driver for those of us in public life. It ought be that which those who have power remember and seek to implement when engaging in their activities. I said that this notion of compassion really was that which lay at the heart of a truly civilised society. I also made the point that compassion is what underscores our relationships with one another and that which enables us to come to a place of community even in our diversity. That is a view which I have had for all of my life—or for as long as I can recall; perhaps not when I was born, but certainly for all of the time when I have actually thought about these issues—and it is very much the reason why I have always been since this issue was raised an advocate for an apology. It is an expression, not only of regret but also of apology, that enables us to come to a place of community. It demonstrates an understanding of what was done, of the impact of what was done, and enables us to move forward.

I was engaged for some part of the years of the former Howard government in various antiracism activities at a community level. In that context I once interviewed Lowitja O’Donoghue in a public forum at which she talked about her experience. That was one of the more profoundly moving experiences that I have had. This woman of extraordinary achievement, extraordinary intellect and extraordinary integrity spoke about what it meant for her to have been taken away. For those of you who do not know, Lowitja O’Donoghue was taken away from her mother at the age of two. She, from memory, was one of the young children who were taken eventually to Colebrook, which was a home in the Adelaide Hills actually not far from where I lived when I came to Australia from Malaysia. Lowitja gave all the people in the audience that day an extraordinary insight into what that meant for her and what it meant for her not to have seen her mother for, I think, about 33 years.

The thing that I remember most about that discussion is not just the sadness of the story that was being told but the extraordinary dignity and spirit of forgiveness with which Miss O’Donoghue spoke. To be honest with the chamber, that was a hallmark of much of the activity I engaged in with Indigenous people on antiracism and other issues before I came into parliament. I have been struck over and over again by the big-heartedness of our Indigenous peoples. How much forgiveness there has been in the way in which they have dealt with me and other non-Indigenous Australians. I have often thought that, if I had been in the same situation and had that sort of history, my anger and bitterness would probably not have enabled me to behave in the ways they did. I have so often been humbled by the dignity, forgiveness and, as I said, big-heartedness of so many Indigenous people with whom I have worked over the years.

I speak in support of this motion firstly, obviously, as someone in this chamber—as an elected representative. But I also want to express my strong personal commitment to this motion and my gladness that we have come to this place. As I have said before, I believe that it is an understanding of the experience of others which enables us to come to a place of community in our diversity. Diversity is a good thing. It is a characteristic of Australian society which has enriched us and it is a characteristic which I believe contributes to a strong, vibrant community. But, in order to ensure that diversity has its most positive manifestation, I believe we must try to understand what it is like for others who are different to ourselves. Non-Indigenous Australians need to come to a place where we have a better understanding of what life has been like in the past and what it is like currently for our Indigenous brothers and sisters.

This is not the day for much partisan politics. I do commend the opposition, after some public comments indicating disquiet on this issue, for eventually supporting this motion. I want to make a couple of brief points about comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in his response in this place on behalf of the opposition. He first made the point that we ought not to judge previous actions by contemporary standards. That is something I have heard said by those who were in the former government and by those who oppose the notion of an apology. It is true that over time human societies develop different notions about what is right and wrong and what is socially acceptable. That is obviously part of what is great about us; we do move forward and we do change. But I want to emphasise this: there are some things which were never right. There are some things which, no matter what time in history they occur, are simply wrong. To try in any way to suggest that, because something occurred in the past when some people and some parliaments thought differently and when some policies were different, it in any way diminishes the moral wrongness of what occurred is incorrect, I believe.

The second point I want to make in relation to the comments made by Senator Minchin and, frankly, by a number of opposition senators is that there was a lot of discussion about the process, criticism of the Prime Minister’s release of the apology and so forth. On a day when we are talking about what has happened over many decades in this country to a group of people because they were black and because they were Indigenous, for people to be so concerned about their own processes really does demonstrate a level of self-absorption that is extraordinary. It would seem from some of the comments made in this place that what was happening inside the coalition party room was of more importance to some than the enormity of what has been done today.

As I said, this is a motion that has been a long time coming. This is a motion which ought to have been dealt with in this place before. I think it is a regret of many people in Australia that for so many years we have failed to see the importance of this symbolic gesture in moving forward. I hope that in the years to come we can look back and say that this was a time when this parliament, on behalf of the community that elects us, and, more importantly, the broader Australian community could acknowledge and apologise for past wrongs and that we then moved forward to do something very different.

Nobody who has argued for symbolic gestures or moments such as this believes that they are the only things we must do. Clearly, there are many practical measures which we have to put in place to redress the unacceptable disadvantage so many of our Indigenous brothers and sisters suffer. But symbolism and ideas are important. We all know that. We are all members of political parties that are not just about practical plans; they are also very much about ideas, philosophies and what we feel in our hearts is right for this nation and this community. Today we have stated as a parliament what we believe is right—that we should say sorry.