Script:

Jerald: (intro music plays) Hello Ladies and Gents, Welcome back to the 11th episode of History
Alive! I am here with my co-host Adib!

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Jerald: In this episode, we will be going over The Apology, a historical event where the Prime
Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, delivered a formal apology regarding the Stolen Generations
on the 13th of February 2008.

Adib: Before that, I’m sure some of our viewers would like to know what exactly the Stolen
Generations were.

Jerald: In summary, the Stolen Generations was a period in Australia that lasted from the mid
1800s to the 1970s, where Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly
“stolen” from their families through government policies. This was extremely traumatizing for the
families which had experienced their children being taken away from them.

Adib: However, despite this, there was a lot of opposition to the apology, and it required time to
flesh out. Let's go over this now.

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Adib: The Bringing them Home report commissioned by the Labor government in 1997
recommended that an official apology be offered for these government policies. However, the
Liberal government at the time opposed the use of the word “sorry”.

Jerald: Yeah, they were pretty much avoiding the issue. Because if they were to use that word,
they would be addressing intergenerational guilt for the Parliament. Which is an extremely
selfish reason to avoid apologizing for this guilt.

Adib: Exactly, and on the 26th of August 1999, John Howard would draft the Motion of
Reconciliation, a proposal that expressed deep regret that Indigenous Australians suffered
discrimination and social inequity.

Jerald: But Labor, led by Kim Beazley at the time, argued for a formal apology. He wanted to
replace this motion of regret with an unreserved apology, but he was unsuccessful. This
government maintained its position on opposing the apology for its whole term in office - from
1996 to 2007.
Adib: Correct. But then, the Rudd Labor Government was appointed in 2007, and on 11th
December of the same year, Kevin Rudd announced that the government would apologize to
Indigenous Australians. The Liberal opposition was split on the issue, but the majority agreed.

Jerald: And finally, on the 13th of February, Rudd delivered his apology to Indigenous
Australians. First, he delivered the apology and then followed it up with a speech. In the
apology, Rudd addresses the Stolen Generations’ grief and talks about his aims to close the
gap. This is evident in the following quotes - “For the pain, suffering, and hurt of these Stolen
Generations, their descendents and their families left behind, we say sorry” and “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.” These quotes show the Parliament’s desires to acknowledge the Stolen
Generations and work to achieve equality.

Adib: Agreed. The Liberal Opposition leader Dr Brendan Nelson also rose to give support.
However, his speech was controversial, for example justifying the public servants who carried
out the removal of children, which is clearly seen in this line - “As such, many decent Australians
are hurt by accusations of theft in relation to their good intentions,” completely downplaying the
traumatic experiences that Indigenous Australians faced due to them, and how their purpose
was not good intentions, but rather assimilation. While inside the chamber the speech was well
received, outside it the speech had mixed reactions, and criticism for example on his discussion
of domestic violence and pedophilia.

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Jerald: Yes, I think it showed that Rudd wanted to make a change to achieve equality and
sincerely reconcile. But why was the National Apology so significant for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people?

Adib: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people took the apology as a historic
acknowledgement of the injustices the stolen generations had to suffer. It was a huge stepping
stone towards building a new respectful relationship between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous
Australians. By acknowledging the Stolen Generations, the Australian Parliament laid
foundations for healing.

Jerald: Yep, and actually using the word “sorry” was extremely important. Rather than
responsibility, it expresses sympathy,empathy and acknowledgement of loss. Furthermore, the
acknowledgement of loss was significant to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. For
example, in this confidential evidence from the Bringing them Home Report, a witness from the
Stolen Generations says “I suspect I’ll carry these sorts of wounds ‘til the day I die. I’d just like it
to not be quite as intense, that's all.” This shows that the acknowledgement of truth and
apologizing was important to the Stolen Generations’ healing process.
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Jerald: The significance of the apology is prominent, but what were the impacts and the
continuing effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Adib: The impact of the Apology is evidence of how important historical acceptance is, which is
one of the 5 terms we use to describe and measure reconciliation. Historical acceptance is not
only about accepting and understanding our past history- it’s about making sure Australia
ensures that our past mistakes will never be repeated again.

Jerald: Indeed, and the Bringing Them Home Report shows that the forced removal of children
from Indigenous families had destructive life-long consequences. This policy had stayed up until
the 1970s, and many affected by the trauma are still alive today.

Adib: Despite the apology, however, Indigenous Australians are not truly healed. While it was a
step in the right direction, the statistics show that not much has changed. The Aboriginal life
expectancy is 10 years less, and they are incarcerated 13 times more than non-Indigenous
Australians. And despite this apology, Australia Day, the day that marks the robbing of a proud
peoples’ land, still exists.

Jerald: So a lot of work still needs to be done. The National Apology was still, however, an
extremely important step to the end goal of achieving true reconciliation and healing in Australia.
Thank you for listening to this episode of History Alive, and we’ll see you next time.