Fifth anniversary of the National Apology

On 13 February 2013 we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. Menzies' staff gauge their thoughts on this very important celebration for all Australians. With the fifth anniversary of the national apology almost upon us, what does reconciliation mean to you?

Director, Professor Alan Cass:

I was driving to work in Sydney glued to my seat listening to the radio, when I heard then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd give the national apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples.

The commitment given in the apology and the subsequent Statement of Intent to Close the Gap in life expectancy and to achieve health equality within a generation provides us as a nation with a fundamentally important challenge.

When I started out as a medical student at Sydney University in 1982, I don’t remember Aboriginal health being given any significant focus during my undergraduate years. For a medical student in Sydney, exposure to Aboriginal health issues was an optional extra, exercised by very few.

A decade later in 1992, I was sent to Alice Springs Hospital as part of my basic specialist physician training. I left Sydney on a Friday, flew to Central Australia and started work on the Monday.

I remember providing care for Aboriginal patients from remote communities, with whom I might speak no more than a few words during an entire hospital admission. There were no interpreter services for the many Aboriginal languages spoken.

The usual pattern was that a critically ill person would be evacuated from their community and flown to the hospital. We would do our best to patch them up and attend to their acute illness and they would leave hospital as soon as they felt the slightest bit better, with a 'discharged against medical advice' stamp prominently displayed in their records. I received no training of any kind to equip me to be an effective care provider in this situation.

At that time, there was no priority given to issues around Aboriginal health, no training in providing services to people across different languages or cultures, no evident concern amongst students or our teachers to be aware of, or seek to understand health disparities.

In the next few years I trained to be a kidney specialist at RPA Hospital. The renal service at RPA had, years before other kidney specialists in NSW, committed to provide a service to Aboriginal communities in Bourke, Breewarinna and Dubbo.

They believed that Aboriginal Australians deserved the same access to renal services as any other Australians and have provided a sustained service for more than 20 years to back up these beliefs.

For me, reconciliation is about mutual respect of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians for each other. Undertaking research in true partnership with communities, as we aim to do at Menzies, embodies this mutual respect.

Another aspect of reconciliation is acknowledgement of injustice. In our work an appropriate response is research seeking to understand the causes of health disparities and the drivers of inequitable access to care, in order to improve access and health outcomes. This has always been the main focus of my work in Aboriginal health.

Associate director of Aboriginal programs, Heather D'Antoine:

The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families was official government policy from 1909 to 1969 right across Australia.

In the mid 1990s, a national inquiry was conducted into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families heard stories from individuals who had been removed. This is part of the story of someone who had been removed in 1935 in the Kimberley.

I was at the post office with my Mum and Auntie [and cousin]. They put us in the police ute and said they were taking us to Broome. They put the mums in there as well. But when we’d gone [about ten miles] they stopped, and threw the mothers out of the car. We jumped on our mothers’ backs, crying, trying not to be left behind. But the policemen pulled us off and threw us back in the car. They pushed the mothers away and drove off, while our mothers were chasing the car, running and crying after us. We were screaming in the back of that car. When we got to Broome they put me and my cousin in the Broome lock-up. We were only ten years old. We were in the lock-up for two days waiting for the boat to Perth.

I was in Perth at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research when Kevin Rudd said sorry to the Stolen Generation. Many Indigenous people made their way to Canberra for it, for them, it was like a pilgrimage.

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.

Ken Wyatt, member for Hasluck, WA was elected into the Federal House of Representatives and became the first Indigenous member of the lower house. In his maiden speech in 2010, he acknowledged Kevin Rudd’s apology.

The apology to the Stolen Generation has been a powerful instrument in the healing of both our people and our nation. He felt a sense of relief that the pain of the past had been acknowledged and that the healing could begin.

What does this mean for us? It is important part of our history that a prime minister had the courage to say sorry. For our work at Menzies, we continue with the good work that we are doing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It highlights why we are embarking on a journey of reconciliation within Menzies.

Project officer, Indigenous programs, Lindy Quall:

For me reconciliation is about non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people coming to together, building relationships and working together as one.

I can’t remember exactly where I was on the day of the apology but I do remember watching it on TV. I remember it being a very special and emotional moment in time.

My children’s great grand mother was part of the Stolen Generation and was fortunate enough to be at Parliament House at the time of the Apology. She was taken away from Daly River at the age of seven and taken to Garden Point Mission on the Tiwi Islands where she grew up.

The Stolen Generation era has played a big part in the pain and suffering the Aboriginal people face today.

Reconciliation is about knowing the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, acknowledging where our people have come from and the difficulties that are everyday life to some.

Furthermore, it’s about being treated and seen as equals, being heard, valued and respected no matter where you are, whether it’s in the workplace, sporting events or out in public.

Project Co-ordinator (Healthy Starts), Ramya Ramamoorthi

Coming to Australia in 2003 from India, my knowledge of Indigenous affairs, in particular, the Stolen Generation, was limited at best.

Since then I’ve learnt much about Australia’s First Peoples, the struggles they’ve faced, and their current struggle to close the gap in health, education and employment.

For me reconciliation is about sharing cultures, histories, listening and trading stories to understand where we’ve come from and better articulate where we want to go together.

Kevin Rudd’s National Apology in 2008 was a huge step towards reconciliation, but much remains to be done.

My hope is that reconciliation one day forms the basis of an important chapter in Australia’s history, and together we can focus our efforts on progressing towards a brighter future for all.

I believe education is paramount for Australia’s Indigenous people and will have a positive systemic influence on a range of social factors. Leading Indigenous identities and politicians also have a vital role to play in advocating for what is best for Australia’s Indigenous peoples.