Emotional tributes have been shared in federal parliament 13 years on from the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered the historic apology on 13 February 2008, expressing remorse on behalf of the nation for the past treatment of Indigenous Australians by the federal government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday repeated the sentiment during an address to parliament, declaring he too is “truly sorry”.
“Siblings separated. Adoptions without consent. Forced servitude. Welfare institutions devoid of all love or care. Parents searching for lost children. Grief, trauma, endless pain that cascaded through generations. Actions of brute force carried out under claims of good intentions, but in truth betrayed the ignorance of arrogance, knowing better than our Indigenous peoples,” he said.
“I am sorry. Truly sorry.”
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, the first Indigenous person to hold the portfolio, also delivered a statement reflecting on the historic apology.
Mr Wyatt said he himself was the son of a member of the Stolen Generations and inequality today was still too rife.
“I see all too often the disadvantage in our communities, the struggles of our people to be heard,” he told the parliament.
“There is much more to do.”
Each year since the apology, the prime minister has typically presented the Closing the Gap statement in parliament as close to the date as possible.
Last year the government introduced a new Closing the Gap strategy with the intention of redesigning the process. An update statement is now set to be delivered in July.
The strategy has been plagued by a lack of progress, with only two of seven targets on track during the last report in 2020.
Ahead of the statements made on Monday in parliament, Indigenous groups raised concerns First Nations people still lack influence over policy and decisions.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Monday called on the government to adopt the recommendations of the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a means of continuing progress towards reconciliation.
“Let’s not keep kicking this down the road,” he said. “Let us not go looking for a way out but instead embrace the way forward.”
The Uluru Statement from the Heart outlines calls for a constitutionally-enshrined voice to parliament and the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
The federal government has committed to implementing an Indigenous voice to government but decided against enshrining such a measure in the constitution.
Labor’s spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said more than three years after the Uluru Statement from the Heart was first conceived, its aspirations remain outstanding.
“If we want to see real and lasting progress on Closing the Gap, First Nations people need to be placed at the centre of decision making on the issues that affect us,” she told the parliament.
