From maatc
blog:
Today marked an historic day in Australian history.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal apology in front of the Parliament, saying "sorry" for the hurt caused by decades of state-sponsored treatment of indigenous Australians.
This was especially important for the "
Stolen Generation", children of mixed descent from indigenous families who where forcibly removed from their parents to be put into orphanages and internment camps between 1869 and 1969.
The word "sorry" has not been used in this context by the Prime Ministers in the past out of fear for compensation claims that may arise from such an admittance of guilt.
Today Kevin Rudd finally did what should have been done years ago.
SMH Multimedia site with Images and audio parts of the speechFull transcript of Kevin Rudds speech here
7 Comments
siftbotTags for this video have been changed from 'indigenous, Australians, apologize' to 'indigenous, Australians, apologize, Stolen Generation, sorry' - edited by Zeph
8383A monumental day in Australia's history. Hopefully this is only the beginning of better things to come.
Please upvote this!
spoco2Big upvote on this. Very happy to have The Ruddster in office, and great to have him get cracking on the things he said he'd do.
Bravo Kevin, and a big boo to opposition leader Brendan Nelson's horrendous speech that COMPLETELY missed the mark.
Also to those who continue on with the 'I refuse to be sorry for something I didn't do'... come on... this is just like saying 'I'm sorry' to a friend who just had a relative die. It's the same as saying 'I'm so sorry' when someone close to you reveals they've been sexually abused (quite relevant in this case). It's not saying Sorry because I did something to you, it's saying 'Sorry, what was done to you was horrible'.
It in no way suggests that a number of those taking in the children didn't do so with the most honourable intentions.
It in no way suggests that it's your fault that it happened.
All it's saying is. "Yes, we acknowledge that what happened was not right, we wish it hadn't happened in this country, we're sorry that it did."
The whole not saying sorry thing is utter, utter selfishness mostly born out of a fear that in some way saying sorry will suddenly mean all our country's wealth will now be spent compensating those affected. Get over it... Anyone with compassion should be able to see that the very small gesture of saying sorry, of ACKNOWLEDGING that it happened is something that should have happened a long, long time ago.
From me, to all affected Indigenous Australians, I'm Sorry for what happened, and I hope we can all help to remove the division that exists between Aboriginals and the rest of us living in Australia.
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)
Really happy this got out. Rudd is not much of a speaker though is he? They should adopt those plexiglass teleprompter panels so he doesn't have his chin buried in his chest half the time.
stumblingjonThe only unfortunate thing, is that this is so ludicrously late in coming.
Im definitely for making the 13th of February a national holiday, in that we remember how cruel and horrible the human race can be even unintentionally.
maatc*downunder
siftbotAdding video to channels (Downunder) - requested by maatc.
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