First Nations

Apology to the Stolen Generations

13 February 2008

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offers an apology to First Nations people on behalf of the nation.

The 1997 Bringing Them Home report recorded the life-long consequences and devastating effects on First Nations people of the policy of forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report recommended governments around Australia officially acknowledge and apologise for past laws and practices. Doing so would allow the country to move forward in reconciliation.

The release of the Bringing Them Home report was followed by apologies from all state and territory parliaments. However, it wasn’t until 2008 that the Australian Government, on behalf of previous Australian governments, acknowledged the past wrongful policies and apologised for them.

At the first meeting of the 42nd Australian Parliament, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd moved a motion that an official apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be voted on by the Parliament. The vote was unanimous in favour of the apology and was welcomed by the majority of Australians.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians … We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
Prime Minster Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008
A document written in ink with the Australian coat-of-arms, titled ‘Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra’.

Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, 2008.

The Hon Kevin Rudd AC (born 1957, signatory), Gemma Black (born 1956, calligrapher), Official Gifts Collection, Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services.

Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, 2008.

A document written in ink with the Australian coat-of-arms, titled ‘Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra’.

The Hon Kevin Rudd AC (born 1957, signatory), Gemma Black (born 1956, calligrapher), Official Gifts Collection, Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services.

Description

In 2008, Prime Miniter Kevin Rudd delivered this apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations, in the House of Representatives. This document was a gift commissioned by The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and is held in the Parliament House Art Collection.

Permission for publication must be sought from Parliament House Art Collection. Contact DPS Art Services, phone: 02 62775034 or 02 62775123

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