I’m Sorry, that I can’t find any more Sorry to be Sorry Enough

Look, I can understand why the Tent Embassy was established all those years ago. I think a lot has changed for the better since then. We had the historic apology just a few years ago, one of the genuine achievements of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. We had the proposal which is currently for national consideration to recognise indigenous people in the Constitution. I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian and yes, I think a lot has changed since then and I think it probably is time to move on from that.

~ Tony Abbott, 26 January 2012, Sydney Opera House

I seldom agree with anything that Tony Abbott has to say, but on this point I do agree. How can we move forward as a nation towards achieving true reconciliation if some are unable to move on from the wrongdoings of the past.

And before I get bombarded with a barrage of abuse, allow me to clarify my position. I have absolutely no doubt that Australia’s indigenous population has been treated badly during the last 200 years.  I do not dispute the history of murders, rapes, stolen children, displacement nor the sense of “invasion” that it must’ve seemed like in the years following 1788.

I am sympathetic to the cultural connection that Aboriginal Australians have with the land, and the sense of injustice that displacement and marginalisation has caused along with the associated social problems and racial discrimination that ensued.

I am also cognisant that a vast majority of Australians want to see an end to this disenfranchisement and to realise true reconciliation with Australia’s first people.

To this end, four years ago, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a historic address to the nation, finally, after years of growing public demand, the nation’s leader presented an apology to Indigenous Australians as a motion to be voted on by the house.

The form of the apology was as follows:

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our national history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page, a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

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 apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

Mr Rudd followed the apology with a 20-minute speech to the house about the need for the apology, which was widely applauded among both Indigenous Australians and the non-indigenous general public.

Then Leader of the Opposition Brendan Nelson also delivered a 20-minute speech in which he endorsed the apology, after which the House of Representatives unanimously adopted the proposed motion.

It would be fair to say that many Australians indigenous and non-indigenous alike, felt a great sense of achievement. Finally progress was being made.

Preceding this historical event, eight years earlier on May 28, 2000, more than 300,000 people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Indigenous Australians and reconciliation. Held the day after Corroboree 2000, the walk attracted Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Australians of all ages and from many different backgrounds including politicians, public figures, families and members of the Stolen Generation, who streamed across the Harbour Bridge for five hours.

The ‘mass mobilisation’ in Sydney was quickly followed by walks in other capital cities, and towns, involving almost a million people in total around the country. In Brisbane more than 60,000 people crossed William Jolly Bridge, 55,000 filled the heart of Adelaide when they walked over King William Street Bridge and in Canberra, people braved snow and sleet to cross Commonwealth Bridge. Walks were later held through the streets of Melbourne and Perth in December—with another 300,000 people taking part to support the reconciliation movement.

Prior to this mass groundswell in support for reconciliation, two years earlier the first National “Sorry Day” was held on May 26, 1998; one year after the tabling of a report about the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

The report, known as Bringing Them Home, acknowledged that Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and communities since the early days of European occupation in Australia. Governments and missionaries were responsible for this forced separation.

There can be no denying the immense support and send of goodwill amongst Australians indigenous and non-indigenous alike to strive towards a process of reconciliation.

No one can change what has happened in the past.

True reconciliation requires an ability, and a willingness to look forward to a vision of the future.

Those that are incapable of moving on from the injustices of the past will simply be tortured by them. Traversing the difficult path of reconciliation requires an ability to let go of the past.

Clinging to the injustices of years gone by prevents progress from being made, and merely dooms the prospect of any chance to reconciliation to failure.

I recall at the time of the inaugural “Sorry Day” many of my fair skinned compatriots expressed some concern that they personally had done nothing wrong, so what was there to apologise for.

It’s a legitimate point of view.

Should present day generations of German teenagers be compelled to apologise to Jewish teenagers for the wrong-doings of Hitler?

Many Australians were prepared to acknowledge the wrong-doings of past generations but felt that it was insincere to offer an apology for something that they were not associated with.

This is a point of view that should be dismissed, and it is perhaps a testament to the good will of Australians that so many supported Sorry Day and the 2008 apology nonetheless.

It would be fair to say, that I have been disappointed by the behaviour of the rowdy mob of protesters that descended on The Lobby restaurant on Australia Day.

In their defence, many people explain that “you don’t know what it’s like to be Aboriginal,” and that is a very valid claim.

However to be disenfranchised from society, to be part of a marginalized minority, to be treated like second class citizens and disadvantaged is not the exclusive domain of indigenous Australians.

As I said on the Australia Day thread, somewhat dismissively, “everyone has a hard luck story,” and I stand by that statement.

People who want to improve their situation and future prospects, regardless of how they found themselves in a dire predicament have two options.

They can either take it upon themselves to improve their lot and access the various resources that are available to assist them, or they can wallow in self-pity and blame everyone else for their “bad luck”.

The former approach takes, courage, discipline and hard work, the latter is often an easier path.

For generations, asylum seekers have reached these shores with nothing, with poor or no English language skills, yet have managed to work within the limitations of the resources available to them to build a new life with a positive future.

During the course of the last twenty years, we have witnessed a tremendous display of goodwill on behalf of most Australians to work towards reconciliation in this country, however this requires a sense of goodwill and partnership from everyone concerned.

Those that are consumed with bitterness and resentment threaten this process and the likelihood of real reconciliation ever becoming a reality.

 

 

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