Bringing them home: Apologies by State and Territory Parliaments (2008)

Australian Capital Territory

17 June 1997

Mrs Kate Carnell, Chief Minister

"I move that this assembly:

1. apologises to the Ngunnawal people and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait
   Islander people in the ACT for the hurt and distress inflicted upon and people
   as a result of the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
   from their families;

2. assures the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this Territory
   that the Assembly regards the past practices of forced separation as abhorrent
   and expresses our sincere determination that they will not happen in the
   ACT;

3. affirms its commitment to a just and proper outcome for both the grievances
   of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people adversely affected by those
   policies and the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report

4. acknowledges that the Government is negotiating a Regional Agreement with
   the Ngunnawal people in relation to the Ngunnawal Native Title Claim in the ACT;
   and

5. by this resolution seeks to take an important step in the healing process
   which is fundamental to reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait
   Islander people and the non-Indigenous members of the ACT community."

• the devastating impact of European settlement on local Aboriginal
  communities;
• the need to remember and raise greater awareness of the past in order to
  undertake the reconciliation process;
• the call for reparation, acknowledgement and apology in the Bringing Them
  Home Report

New South Wales

18 June 1997

The Hon Bob Carr, Premier

"I move:

That this House, on behalf of the people of NSW –

1. apologises unreservedly to the Aboriginal people of Australia for the
   systematic separation of generations of Aboriginal children from their parents,
   families and communities;

2. acknowledges and regrets Parliament’s role in enacting laws and
   endorsing policies of successive governments whereby profound grief and loss
   have been inflicted upon Aboriginal Australians;

3. calls upon all Australian Governments to respond with compassion,
   understanding and justice to the report of the HREOC entitled Bringing Them
   Home;

4. reaffirms its commitment to the goals and processes of reconciliation in NSW
   and throughout Australia."

Further comments in speech:

• Reiterates the crucial role of past governments in causing the stolen
  generations by supporting corrupt laws and attitudes.
• Recognises the ongoing grief, suffering and humiliation inflicted by such
  laws.
• Confirms that he speaks on behalf of the Government and people of NSW
• Supports the recognition of Aboriginal dispossession as well as the positive
  achievements of the pioneer generations – co-existing themes in Australian
  history – but acknowledges that dispossession is an ongoing legacy for
  Indigenous Australians.
• Apology is recognition of wrongs and acceptance of responsibility, to end
  the denial of truth and history.
• Pursuing the achievement of justice, equality and respect

South Australia

28 May 1997

The Hon. Dean Brown, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

"I move:

That the South Australian Parliament expresses its deep
and sincere regret at the forced separation of some Aboriginal children from
their families and homes which occurred prior to 1964, apologises to these
Aboriginal people for these past actions and reaffirms its support for
reconciliation between all Australians."

• - "Expresses its deep and sincere regret"
• - Apologises for past actions
• - Reaffirms support for reconciliation

• Reconciliation is about the future of Australia
• Speaks on behalf of the people of South Australia
• Recognises the pain and devastation caused by policies aimed largely at
  assimilation, the need to raise awareness and understanding, and to take
  action.
• Reminds of the obligation and responsibility of government to legislate with
  equity and compassion

Tasmania

13 August 1997

Mr. Tony Rundle, Premier

"The motion before the House this afternoon is –

That this Parliament, on behalf of all Tasmanians, expresses its deep and
sincere regrets at the hurt and distress caused by past policies under which
Aboriginal children were removed from their families and homes, apologises to
the Aboriginal people for those past actions and reaffirms its support for
reconciliation between all Australians."

Motion carried without dissent

• - Speaking on behalf of all Tasmanians
• - "Deep and sincere regret"
• - "hurt and distress caused by past policies"
• - Apologises for past actions
• - Reaffirms support for reconciliation

Victoria

17 September 1997

Mr. Jeff Kennett, Premier

"I move:

That this house apologises to Aboriginal people on behalf of all Victorians
for the past policies under which Aboriginal children were removed from their
families and expresses deep regret at the hurt and distress that this has caused
and reaffirms its support for reconciliation."

• - Apologises for past policies
• - Speaks on behalf of all Victorians
• - "Expresses deep regret at the hurt and distress"
• - Reaffirms support for reconciliation
  

• Reminder that this did not occur in the distant past, but during our
  lifetime and in this state.
• Commitment to redressing these disadvantages in partnership with the
  Aboriginal people.
• Expresses disgust at past practices, acknowledges that today they would be
  unacceptable
• Committed to working with Aboriginal communities to deliver programs to
  address their undoubted disadvantage ... [and] assisting Aboriginal communities
  to become economically sustainable and reach a point where they are no longer
  overwhelmingly dependent on government support.
• Expresses personal sorrow and apology

Western Australia

27 May 1997

Dr. Geoff Gallop, Leader of the Opposition

(motion supported
by Premier, Richard Court)

"I move:

That this House apologises to the Aboriginal people on
behalf of all Western Australians for the past policies under which Aboriginal
children were removed from their families and expresses deep regret at the hurt
and distress this has caused."

• - Apologises on behalf of all Western Australians
• - "Expresses deep regret at the hurt and distress"

• Acceptance that policies of past governments have caused a great deal of
  pain for several generations of Indigenous Australians
• Comments on complexity of issues of compensation
• Acknowledges the trauma caused by past policies however well intended they
  might have been at the time
  

Premier Court "It is appropriate that this House show respect
for Aboriginal families that have been forcibly separated as a consequence of
government policy in the past, by observing a period of silence." (Members stood
for one minute silence)

Queensland

26 May 1999

Mr. Peter Beattie, Premier

"I move:

That this House apologises to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people in Queensland on behalf of all Queenslanders for the past
policies under which indigenous children were forcibly separated from their
families and expresses deep sorrow and regret at the hurt and distress that this
caused.

• - Apologises
• - Speaks on behalf of all Queenslanders
• - "Expresses deep sorrow and regret at the hurt and
  distress"

This House recognises the critical importance to indigenous Australians and
the wider community of a continuing reconciliation process, based on an
understanding of, and frank apologies for, what has gone wrong in the past and
total commitment to equal respect in the future."

Motion carried in the affirmative

Federal

26 August, 1999

Mr John Howard, Prime Minister

1. reaffirms its whole-hearted commitment to the cause of reconciliation
   between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians;

2. recognising the achievements of the Australian nation, commits to work
   together to strengthen the bonds that unite us, to respect and appreciate our
   difference, and to build a fair and prosperous future in which we can all share;

3. reaffirms the central importance of practical measures leading to practical
   results that address the profound economic and social disadvantage which
   continues to be experienced by many indigenous Australians;

4. recognises the importance of understanding the shared history of indigenous
   and non-indigenous Australians and the need to acknowledge openly the wrongs and
   injustices of Australia’s past;

5. acknowledges that the mistreatment of many indigenous Australians over a
   significant period represents the most blemished chapter in our national
   history;

6. expresses its deep and sincere regret that indigenous Australians suffered
   injustices under the practices of past generations, and for the hurt and trauma
   that many indigenous people continue to feel as a consequence of those
   practices; and

7. believes that we, having achieved so much as a nation, can now move forward
   together, for the benefit of all Australians;

(f) unreservedly apologises to indigenous Australians for the injustice
they have suffered, and for the hurt and trauma that many indigenous people
continue to suffer as a consequence of this injustice;

(fa) calls for the establishment of appropriate processes to provide
justice and restitution to members of the stolen generation through
consultation, conciliation and negotiation rather than requiring indigenous
Australians to engage in adversarial litigation in which they are forced to
relive the pain and trauma of their past suffering; and

That (g) becomes new paragraph (h).

These amendments were not agreed to

Motion carried without dissent

Northern Territory

• (a) apologises to Territorians who were removed from their families under
  the authority of the Commonwealth
  
  Aboriginals Ordinance and placed in
  institutional or foster care;

• (b) acknowledges their belief that such
  removals represented the implementation of a government assimilation policy
  without regard to individual welfare circumstances;

• (c) recognises the
  profound sense of loss and emotional trauma suffered by both the removed
  children and
  
  the communities from which they were taken, regardless of the
  existence or non-existence of any valid welfare reason for removal in any
  particular case;

• (d) recognises that in the great majority of cases the
  removed children received inadequate care, guidance, and education, and that the
  Commonwealth government of the day failed in its obligation to facilitate
  reunions between the removed children and their Aboriginal communities once any
  purported welfare objective had been achieved; and

• (e) calls upon the
  Commonwealth government to make a formal and specific apology to all those
  persons removed pursuant to the Aboriginals Ordinance, acknowledging that the
  Commonwealth failed in discharging its moral obligations towards
  them."

Motion carried in the affirmative

Further comments:

Ms Martin then recalls the comments she made in the
NT Assembly back in 1998:

When I see how the policies of federal and state governments throughout the
country have impacted on a group of people, simply because they were Aboriginal
or Torres Strait Islanders, and what that has done to a generation of Aboriginal
people, I want to say sorry. I am not personally guilty....but as a proud
Australian, I think the least we can do is apologise. That does not mean that I
am personally guilty or my children are personally guilty or my parents are
personally guilty or that, as members of parliament, we are personally guilty...
I think the least we can do is to say sorry as a symbolic and honest gesture, as
a gesture for the past and in some cases for our generation, is certainly the
least we can do.

Chief Minister Shane Stone 18th February 1998



Amendment proposal to apology motion by Opposition leader (Mrs Hickey) ¹

It is not our intention to vote against the motion proposed by the opposition, but rather to amend it. Madam Speaker, I move that the motion be amended by omitting all words after `that this Assembly' and inserting the following in their stead:

(1) endorses the actions of the CLP government in
supporting and continuing to provide support to
Aboriginal Territorians, particularly those who were
adversely affected by the previous policies and practices
of Commonwealth governments under which mixed-race
children were separated from their mothers and families;

(2) notes that the CLP government of the Northern Territory
has led the way for all Australian governments by
contributing substantial funds to the `Coming Home'
conference in Darwin in September 1994, assisting the
Stolen Generations reference group to make its submission
to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's
inquiry and establishing a protocol to access relevant
records held by the Northern Territory government to
facilitate family unification;