The first item of business for Australia's new Parliament will be to give a formal apology to members of the Stolen Generations, on Wednesday, February 13.
This will follow a national Welcome to Country as part of the opening proceedings for Parliament on Tuesday, February 12. The welcome will be delivered by Elder Matilda House on behalf of the Ngunnawal People in the Members Hall.
In making these announcements, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Ms Jenny Macklin, said that the national apology was a first, necessary step to move forward from the past.
"The apology will be made on behalf of the Australian Government and does not attribute guilt to the current generation of Australian people," she said in a January 30, 2008, media release.
The Welcome to Country would carry national significance in symbolizing a "future of respect and partnership with Indigenous people".
In applauding the Federal Government's "sorry" response, Catholic Religious Australia has called for the Government to collaborate with Aboriginal leaders to improve the quality of life of many whose lives have been traumatised.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, CRA's Acting President, Sr Christine Burke, IBVM, said:
Your Government is preparing to offer an apology to the Indigenous peoples who have been named " The Stolen Generation". It is clear from the findings of the earlier Commission into this devastating experience, and from the desire of so many non-Indigenous Australians to officially voice our sorrow at what happened in our name, that this is a much needed symbolic action by our national leadership. It is fitting that this statement will be made as part of a full parliamentary sitting.
The leaders of Religious Congregations across Australia support this move to publicly say "Sorry" to those indigenous people who were forcibly removed from their families at various times since white settlement of this country. The policies of that time failed to recognise the rights and relationships of families whose way of life differed from the accepted western norms. Incredible pain and dislocation resulted for those immediately involved, and the effects are still being experienced in succeeding generations.
We applaud this official Federal response. We also hope that your Government continues to work in close collaboration with Indigenous leaders to find a way to improve the quality of life of many communities, families and individuals who have been traumatised as a consequence of these policies.
In other responses, Fr Frank Brennan SJ, has commended the Coalition for its decision to support the Parliamentary apology while the Catholic Bishops hope it will free up broken lives.
Fr Brennan, writing for the online publication, Eureka Street, said: "The Coalition parties are to be commended for their decision to support the parliamentary apology. There is still the delicate politics of finalising the wording. Minister Jenny Macklin has been meeting respectfully with a broad range of indigenous Australians who want the parliament to apologise. Prime Minister Rudd has dealt honourably with the Coalition discussing the matter directly with Brendan Nelson. History teaches that we are not quite there yet.
"Back in August 1988, Prime Minister Bob Hawke had invited Opposition Leader John Howard to second the first motion to be moved in the new Parliament House acknowledging the place of indigenous Australians in our history and in our national life. At the last moment, the wording of abipartisan resolution could not be agreed upon despite John Howard's willingness because of some refractory elements in the Coalition. Hopefully Brendan Nelson has minimised the risk of those elements derailing this important national event.
"When the motion of apology is moved next week, those on both sides of the chamber might recall Neville Bonner's Jagera Sorry Chant sung in the old Parliament House at the 1998 Constitutional Convention. Sir James Killen observed, 'I never thought that the word 'gracious' could be used in relation to indictment, but this chamber, and indeed the country today, has been presented with a gracious indictment against it, and that indictment has been presented by my old friend Neville Bonner.' It is now time for a gracious, heartfelt, unanimous apology acknowledging our national indictment for past wrongs."
Meanwhile, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has been reported by
the Catholic Weekly as hoping the Federal Government's national apology to the Stolen Generations will help "free up the emotional logjam" that now exists and create "new opportunities for the recovery of broken lives".
"It could help to break the impasse that has restricted the effectiveness of State and Federal programs for indigenous advancement and at the same time help Aboriginal people, as individuals and groups, to approach their future with greater optimism and determination," said Archbishop Barry Hickey, chairman of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander People.
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