Westserve

Saying sorry - and meaning it.

Our church played on the big screen, the whole of the apology to indigenous Australians made in Federal parliament this morning.

Somewhat to my surprise, I found the whole thing very moving.

I found myself following Mr Rudd’s speech very closely, and watching the other pollies in the background and when the camera caught them in other shots, to see how fair dinkum they were.
Apart from a shot of Wilson Tuckey (Coalition maverick, and dare I say ‘red-neck’) busy scratching himself and looking thoroughly bored, most were doing likewise: hanging off MR Rudd’s every word.

The speech came across to me as utterly genuine, powerful, emotive and truthful. Surely that must rate as extraordinary for a political speech in the House of Reps!
I found myself saying ‘Amen’ several times, and certain lines in the speech were almost liturgical in their structure and feel.

The highlights for me were:

• Seeing the number of Aboriginal people in the gallery.
• The big crowds outside responding spontaneously.
• The standing ovation given to Mr Rudd.
• Mr Rudd and other pollies turning to applaud the indigenous people present.
• The willingness of the Speaker to allow the applause and ‘unparliamentary’ response to continue.
• The presence of every living past Prime Minister of Australia – bar one.
• What appeared to be the slow clap that the crowd outside gave Mr Nelson.

The lowlights:

• The absence of John Howard.
• The historical revisionist feel to Mr Nelson’s response, and the “how much can I sound like I’m apologising without actually doing it” feel of his speech.
• The fact that it took this long to get around to doing it.

This was the nearest thing I’ve seen to a national act of repentance.
Would that we, as a nation would now say the same thing to God.

This is the full wording of the apology:

That 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 nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn 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.