Sorry Speech

On the 13th February 2008, Kevin Rudd made a monumental step in changing the relationship and future treatment of Aboriginal Australians. He identified that the treatment they received was injust and never to be repeated. He adressed the parliament with confidence while maintaining a level of professionalism that sparked the emotions of everyone who watched. It encouraged people of non-aboriginal descent to apologise to the past and present generations of Aboriginal people and to change their judgements, prejudices and misconceptions that they may previously had held. The following passage is taken from the Speech that was the start of a historic change in Australia.

"To the Stolen Generations, I say the following: as Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the Government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry. And I offer you this apology without qualification. We apologise for the hurt, the pain and suffering we, the parliament, have caused you by the laws that previous parliaments have enacted. We apologise for the indignity, the degradation and the humiliation these laws embodied. We offer this apology to the mothers, the fathers, the brothers, the sisters, the families and the communities whose lives were ripped apart by the actions of successive governments under successive parliaments. In making this apology, I would also like to speak personally to the members of the Stolen Generation and their families: to those here today, so many of you; to those listening across the nation—from Yuendumu, in the central west of the Northern Territory, to Yabara, in North Queensland, and to Pitjantjatjara in South Australia."

The last section shows the intention of future discussion of the issue, to ensure the change is maintained and continued. Thought Kevin Rudd has come under some scrutiny to whether the sppech was simply a token gesture with little substance and following action. However, the speech was a effective tool to get people to accept the treatment was wrong and to talk about the issues that currently face the Aboriginal people of Australia.