National Sorry Day

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The National Sorry Day is an Australian event, held each year on 26 May since 1998. It is not an official holiday.

Between 1995 and 1997 an inquiry was held into the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, the "Stolen Generations". The final report, "Bringing Them Home - Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families" was released in 1997. One year after the release of the final report, a National Sorry Day was instituted, to acknowledge the wrong that had been done to indigenous families and so that the healing process could begin. Sorry Day is also in remembrance of mistreatment of the Aboriginal people and not only to the children involved in the Stolen Generation. Many politicians, from both sides of the house, participated. The day was held annually until 2004.

It was renamed National Day of Healing from 2005. However, in September 2005 the name reverted when the National Sorry Day Committee decided to restore the name Sorry Day.

ENIAR (European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights) has been hosting an annual event to mark the National Sorry Day each year in London since 2005. The 2005 London event was the first Sorry Day to be hosted outside of Australia and sought to raise the awareness of indigenous issues in the UK. This event includes performances and speeches by indigenous and non-indigenous Australians as well as British citizens who have connections with indigenous Australia.

1 2008 apology - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] 2008 apology - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech

On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd put a motion to the Parliament of Australia.".^[1]

“

I move:

That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing culture 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.

”

In his accompanying speech, Kevin Rudd noted that "reconciliation is in fact an expression of a core value of our nation".^[1]