Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land that we find ourselves on in this federal parliament and I support the motion taking note of the apology. Today Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Parliament of Australia, said sorry to Indigenous Australians for past injustices they experienced as a result of previous government policies. Prime Minister Rudd recognised the devastating impact of previous government policies on the families of the stolen generation, and the dislocation and displacement of whole communities, and he did so in a way that I think encompassed all of the pain, not just of those affected directly but of their families and their extended families, and indeed the long-term impact on whole communities—an impact that continues today.

Saying sorry has been a long time coming, and I know many people in this place and many, many more outside of this place have dreamed of this day, have worked long and hard to make it happen through their own compassion and activism, leading towards this moment. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of everybody who, from the bottom of their hearts, worked towards the positive outcome of a genuine apology emanating from the Prime Minister of this country. It is a historic moment for the healing of the nation. It is as though the warmth and optimism that I felt coming into Parliament House today has permeated the community right around the country.

There is obviously some scepticism and some questions. What happens next? Of course—that is appropriate. But I was truly inspired by the warmth and optimism that was tangible in the building this morning and that I think has been reflected in the extraordinarily gracious generosity of the acceptance of that apology by Indigenous people. I think it is a day from which we can move forward. I have great hope and optimism for that. I applaud the inspired stewardship of Kevin Rudd—and I also acknowledge the very committed work of our Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin—in making this a priority for this first sitting of the 42nd Parliament.

There are undisputed facts, as reported in the stolen generations report Little children are sacred. Now those facts are firmly imprinted on our collective consciousness, and it is for those facts that today we are saying sorry. We know that between 1910 and 1970, between 10 and 30 per cent of Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their parents. For those of us who have heard the stories firsthand, it is an incredibly emotional experience and one that I think everybody should be able to listen to firsthand, because it is that compelling telling of those stories that makes it real for all of us. We can never share the pain directly, but it makes it real to us in a way that we all acknowledge and accept some responsibility.

It was, of course, the product of deliberate, calculated policies of the state at the time. The powers to take the children away were provided by the parliament of the day—explicit powers provided under statute. This whole experience should make us very humble as legislators. We have seen the harm that misguided policies can cause and we have an immense responsibility to stand up and acknowledge these mistakes, as we have today, as well as to celebrate the successes. The apology is, as I think everyone including the Prime Minister is saying, a first step.

The Rudd Labor government is committed to reducing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with respect to health, education and life expectancy. These policies will no doubt be challenging to implement. To improve health in a genuine, sustainable, long-term and holistic manner requires attention to and investment in the social determinants of health—housing, education, employment, obviously health services, the physical environment and individual and collective self-esteem. This gamut of public policy challenges is, fortunately, an area that we in Australia have a great deal of expertise in. In fact, many of our states do have the capacity to provide the professional guidance, support and public policy inspiration we need to make a real difference. What was lacking in the area of health promotion public policy was the genuine commitment needed by the former federal government to see fit to deploy those resources in a focused and unrelenting way towards a problem that still exists, to our shame—and that is, the health status of our Indigenous population.

Let us hope that we will not have to wait as long to report back positively about the impact of the changes in those policies and the outcomes of investment in education, employment opportunities and health status. Let us hope that this agenda will continue to attract the sort of bipartisan support that I am hearing echoing back across the chamber today from most, if not all, because that gives us all great heart that this really is going to be a concerted effort—not one divided by the partisan politics of opportunism but one inspired by the opportunity to rectify a great wrong.

The weight that has been lying across our collective conscience has been lifted slightly in one corner. We have a way to go, but I think together all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, will be able to stand tall and walk together at some point in the future with this weight lifted. For my part, I am proud to be part of the moment—I am proudest of the Indigenous people, who have lived their lives with great dignity and who found themselves part of this formality today in the federal parliament of a Prime Minister finally saying sorry.

In closing, I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful initiative in having a welcome to country ceremony prior to the opening of parliament yesterday. It is a longstanding tradition I know in other houses of parliament and it has been a feature of public events in Canberra for a very long time. The lack of that presence in Parliament House stood out as glaring. It has now been fixed and I too would like to acknowledge the bipartisan support for that continuing tradition. I would like to thank Matilda House and the elders for their participation in a wonderful ceremony that I think will set the tone for that tradition to continue in the future.