Ministerial Statement

STOLEN GENERATIONS

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:01): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: First, I want to acknowledge that we, in this parliament, meet today on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. I am sure all of us are proud that the Aboriginal flag, the South Australian flag and the Australian flag fly side by side above us.

Today's apology by the Prime Minister and the national parliament marks a momentous occasion in the history of this nation. It heralds, we all hope, the beginning of a respectful new relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. In that spirit, I offer the warmest welcome and acknowledgment to the elders, members of the stolen generations and family members from Aboriginal communities across South Australia who join us in this parliament today.

This morning in Elder Park I sat alongside Aboriginal elders and joined with other South Australians from every possible background to watch the Prime Minister deliver his national apology to the stolen generations. In Canberra, our Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Jay Weatherill, and our newly appointed Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Klynton Wanganeen, were among the thousands present to witness this landmark address.

Across the nation, I am sure there are millions of people who, like me, were proud to be Australian this morning when, at last, we were united as the people in acknowledging the injustices of the past as we move forward towards reconciliation. In South Australia, it is fair to say that we have been here before, perhaps in a smaller way. But from little things, big things grow.

Nearly 11 years ago in this place, on a day like this, our opposing parties were not opposed, even on matters of detail or wording. We were bigger than that and then we apologised wholeheartedly and unanimously. There were no dissenting or discordant voices. We said sorry for wrongs done in our time, and in years before our time, to the first custodians of this ancient land.

On that day, we made a belated effort towards healing or, at least, to try to make amends or to find sufficient words of consolation, sadness, regret and sympathy for wrongs and cruelties, as well as the honest mistakes that could now not be undone.

On that day in this parliament, there were no weasel words. We were not afraid to apologise. We were not afraid to say sorry, and I join with the Prime Minister in doing so again. Today, but now as Premier of South Australia, I, too, say sorry. These words have to be said clearly and unequivocally in this parliament, and now, today, with decency, grace, candour and feeling from the national parliament and the prime minister—words that herald a new beginning.

On 28 May 1997, this parliament was one of the first in Australia to express its deep and sincere regret to the stolen generations for the impact of past government policies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and on our state and nation. The motion was passed without dissent. I still believe it was one of the best days in the history of this parliament. The Aboriginal affairs minister of the time, the Hon. Dean Brown, for whom I have a great respect, and who is here in this parliament today, recognised the need for political unity. He said:

Reconciliation has nothing to do with party politics: it is about the future of Australia. Today, this parliament, on behalf of the people of South Australia, takes another important step along the road towards reconciliation.

Our apology that day offered a chance to members on both sides of this house to recognise the pain endured by so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities. Seconding Dean Brown's motion, I spoke of mothers at settlements around Australia desperately trying to hide—and, in some cases, temporarily bury—their children in order to prevent them from being taken away.

In 1991, at Ooldea, as minister of Aboriginal affairs, I had the privilege of handing over the title of the Ooldea lands to Maralinga elders who had confronted everything, even the testing of nuclear weapons on their lands and the poison left behind. We had a ceremony in the desert and elders cooked a dinner for us at our campsite the night before. Trucks and cars arrived from all directions and Aboriginal people both young and old walked with us to a place where, for thousands of years, Aboriginal people had lived and gathered next to a precious water source. In more recent times, it had become the site of Daisy Bates' mission.

Today, there are still a few pepper trees that mark the mission site amongst the sandhills. Beneath those sandhills—land sacred to Aboriginal people—is one of the richest and oldest archaeological sites in the world. But it was also a place where so many Aboriginal children had been taken away from their parents. Towards the end of the ceremony, whilst I was still speaking, I was approached by an elderly Aboriginal woman weeping and in considerable distress. Her son told me that she had been taken away from her mother at Ooldea and, in later life, had spent years trying to trace and meet her family and the mother she never knew. I was told that she eventually met her mother before she died. She was so proud and so moved on that day that she had finally returned to her birthplace, finally come back to the place from which she had been taken. Her mother's little girl had finally come home, and she had done so on the very day, at the very moment, that Ooldea had once again been recognised as Aboriginal land.

I have attended land rights ceremonies where Aboriginal women have poignantly sung about the babies being taken away. They were singing about their own experiences, and each time their song was followed by prolonged, painful silence. It is a grief that has not healed. Others in this chamber on that day tried to imagine the suffering in order to empathise with those whose lives were torn apart. The then member for Napier, Annette Hurley, stated:

As a mother I know how I would feel if my child were taken away from me, and I never knew what happened to that child all through its life.

All who spoke acknowledged that the practices undertaken in the past have had an ongoing impact within the Aboriginal community. The premier of the time, John Olsen, noted the following:

The decisions which led to this sad episode have caused a scar on the face of the nation.

The ceremonies that I have attended, the grieving that I have witnessed, seem to embody that scar, that stain on our soul to which the Prime Minister referred earlier today.

Back in 1997, we agreed to learn from these past mistakes. The apology to the stolen generations was symbolic but it was also sincere. Here in South Australia, we took our first step down the road to reconciliation. Today's apology in our federal parliament represents another critically important milestone in that journey.

Some people, of course, have dismissed symbolic acts just as they dismissed land rights. They say that they prefer practical remedies. But you cannot have one without the other. Beyond these words there is a long, hard road to travel. Many here will not see its end. But today is at least a beginning. In the spirit of South Australia's apology more than a decade ago, I look forward to working with the opposition and all members of this parliament towards the day when the first Australians are no longer the last Australians in health, education, employment, life expectancy, and opportunity.

Today the Prime Minister also spoke of practical outcomes. Past experience has shown us that practical outcomes cannot be reached without a respectful partnership and an acknowledgement of past injustices. Since coming to office in 2002, the government has used the apology delivered in this house in 1997 as a platform to pursue recognition, justice and healing for Aboriginal people. In 2004, I was proud to honour a pledge that I had made more than a decade before to return a large area of land, the Mamungari Conservation Park, to the ownership of the Maralinga Tjarutja and Pila Nguru Aboriginal people. It was the biggest hand back of land in 20 years.

More recently, we have worked with the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yunkunytjatjara people in our state's North-West to try to solve problems such as petrol sniffing. We are acting in partnership with Aboriginal people to try to find solutions to the most difficult problems. There is now a new school, swimming pools, a power station, a rehabilitation centre, bush tucker programs, arts centres, as well as police back on the lands.

But there is much, much more to be done. We welcome the pledge of a new era of cooperation from the Prime Minister—cooperation with the states and territories, cooperation with the opposition and, most importantly, an equal partnership with indigenous Australians based on trust. Today's apology can now allow that to happen with a cleaner slate and a new resolve. We owe it to the children.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I move:

That standing orders be so far suspended as to enable the Leader of the Opposition to make a statement forthwith.

The SPEAKER: I have counted the house and, as there is an absolute majority of the whole number of members of the house, I accept the motion. Is it seconded?

An honourable member: Yes, sir.

Motion carried.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): Today marks another step in our journey, as a state and as a people, towards reconciliation. It is an Australian journey; it is also a South Australian journey. Eleven years ago, for the first time in parliamentary history, a leader of government, the South Australian Premier, said he was sorry. Today I reaffirm the words of former Liberal premier Dean Brown and then minister for Aboriginal affairs, who invited then opposition leader Mike Rann to second the motion in a true spirit of bipartisanship. That spirit is alive and even stronger today.

The state Liberals pay tribute to the struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge their hardships. We share their pain. Today we remember those who have been able to come home. We lament the children who could never come home. In April 1997, Australians were confronted with the stories of thousands of people whose lives had been affected by the official policies of separation of children from their families, of mothers from their children. The Bringing Them Home report changed the debate from one of policy to one about real people, real tragedies and real trauma.

I speak today to reaffirm and recognise that leadership by this parliament on 28 May 1997, when former premier Dean Brown and then minister for Aboriginal affairs moved the following:

That the South Australian parliament expresses its deep and sincere regret at the forced separation of some Aboriginal children from their families and homes which occurred prior to 1964, apologises to these Aboriginal people for these past actions and reaffirms its support for reconciliation between all Australians.

That motion was supported by all MPs. Today, together, our spirit remains strong and united. This issue has been difficult for our nation as a whole to embrace. The 11-year journey that began with Premier Brown's apology reached its high point today when our federal leaders shook hands across the floor of parliament and said sorry on behalf of the entire nation.

I ask members today to also consider the future. It is imperative that we do not see today as a conclusion to our journey, but rather as the beginning of a greater journey—a great journey for a reconciled nation of many cultures.

As we step forward, I ask that we remember those from the indigenous community who could not join us, who could not be with us today. In the many decades of separation, children taken from their home often never returned. Many children became adults who struggled with identity and belonging. Many of those have passed and their stories may never be told. To understand our future let us also understand the losses incurred in our past. We cannot revoke or reinvent the past—it happened. We remember those who could never return to their home.

Before coming to this place I had the privilege of serving our nation in the defence forces alongside indigenous Australians, and that took me to remote communities. I ran into one of the soldiers with whom I served this morning at Elder Park, an Aboriginal soldier. These were men and women who had the courage to serve our nation. In many cases, their spirit rests on foreign soil well away from their traditional homes. In some ways, the nation has often failed to serve them. We will always remember them.

Today, like 28 May 1997, is a significant day in our state's history. This parliament's apology reflected the impact of the Bringing Them Home Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.

The report showed the reality of policies of past governments, including South Australian governments. Many children were forcibly removed from their families by Australian authorities until as late as 1969, or even slightly later. Many people affected by the tragedy of the stolen generations are still alive, and live with its effects. Many are here today.

All on this side of the chamber, and, I am sure, in the entire house, welcome them. We thank them. We accept their invitation to join in reconciliation. Apologising to the stolen generation provided our state parliament with the opportunity to recognise the wrongs within policies of past governments and to make a commitment to reconciliation.

As others have said before and today, we have a long way to go together. Health and education must be on the very top of our agenda going forward. The apology in federal parliament today supported by the federal Liberal opposition marks the beginning. Here in South Australia we need to do more to help our Aboriginal and indigenous communities. We need to provide the means by which future generations can understand the history of indigenous culture. The South Australian Liberals have been active in their support for reconciliation from the outset and will continue to be.

When European culture arrived in 1788, they found a happy people who lived comfortably with the land they so loved. Over time, we have had to confront many problems. Let us help solve the health, social and other issues before us. Let us educate the young children, because the new generations must be stronger, healthier and happier. The new generations should reflect the new Australia: a nation that in 2008 has learnt much from the last 220 years; a nation that sets a new standard for coming centuries.

Today is a day to think of our children. From this day Aboriginal children here in South Australia should be able to grow without disadvantage. From this day non-Aboriginal children, from wherever they may trace their origins, should be able to grow without shame.

I congratulate the parliament of 1997 and its agenda-setting policy and apology. I reaffirm on behalf of all on this side of the chamber—and join with the Premier—that motion of the day. The state Liberals reaffirm the deep and sincere regret at the forced separation of some Aboriginal children from their homes and families. We apologise to these people for past actions. We reaffirm our support for reconciliation between all South Australians and all Australians. Today, as the member for Waite, I say sorry. Today, as leader of the state Liberals, I say sorry. And today, as the Leader of the Opposition, I say sorry. Let today, 13 February 2008, be remembered as a day for us to look around and learn, a day when we understand that we are all Australians, a day when we understand the importance of saying sorry and of accepting an apology and a day when we become a better Australia and a better South Australia. Thank you.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!