Robert Brault's Apology

The National Apology of 2008 is the latest addition to the key aspects of Australia’s reconciliation towards the Indigenous owners of our land. A part of this movement towards reconciliation is the recognition of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders rights to their land. Upon arrival in Australia, Australia was deemed by the British as terra nullius, land belonging to no one. This subsequently meant that Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were never recognised as the traditional owners. Eddie Mabo has made a highly significant contribution to the rights and freedoms of Indigenous Australians as he was the forefather of a long-lasting court case in 1982 fighting for the land rights of the

In Kevin Rudd’s 17th of February 2008 speech, the Australian Prime Minister apologises to the Indigenous Australians for the stolen generations. With this speech, Rudd attempted to ease the disadvantage that affects most Indigenous Australians by pledging that the government would improve their health, education, living conditions and their lifestyle overall. Rudd claims that he is apologetic and remorseful for the treatment the past Indigenous Australians received. He strengthens his speech by using several language techniques to convince the audience that Australia is remorseful for the past events and wishes to amend. the techniques he used include such as his choice of vocabulary and references to time to mention the historical struggle

Kevin Rudd’s apology was to the Aboriginals; but in particular, to the Stolen Generations. From 1909-1969, the Australian Government forced a policy know as assimilation upon the Aboriginals. Assimilation is the forced integration of minority groups onto the dominant society. Inhumane acts were inflicted upon these proud people because of the ‘Aborigines Protection Board’ which entailed that the Australian Government had full rights to forcibly remove half-caste children from Aboriginal care without parental consent nor a court order.

Mr Rudd opened his speech in parliament with the words “We honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history” (2012). It is true that Mr Rudd took the first step in reconciliation however he has not progressed as far as hoped. There has been little compensation made to the stolen generation. Was the apology a sincere one? Perhaps? His intentions were clear and precise. Rudd had said he would apologize and he did. He did not say he would compensate the Indigenous Australians in any form which would have gone a long way to begin the healing process. Especially due to the inconceivable horrors that were enacted against the Stolen Generations.

After this time, many atrocities occurred, such as the fact that Aboriginals were often killed for sport, and massacres such as Myall Creek were occurring, where 28 Aboriginal men, women and children were murdered near Myall Creek Station in 1838. There was also the problem of the Stolen Generation, when Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their homes to be raised as though they were white. It was only recently in 2008, that Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, apologised for the actions that the government had undertaken. In another apologetic move, Prime Minister Paul Keating delivered a powerful speech regarding the fact that Aboriginal Communities were still segregated despite the fact that laws had been changed a number of years ago. This shows that the idea of atonement by Australia is quite a new topic. Does this prove the challenges that Aboriginal’s faced nearly 200 years ago are still present in today’s society? It was enough to force the Aboriginal men, women and children to begin act in support of their rights.

There are people who say the Assimilation Policy was not the most affected event towards the Aboriginal community because Kevin Rudd set out and made an apology to all that had been affect by the government policy and also to those of the stolen generation who had been forgotten about. This apology was made on the 13th February 2008 at the Parliament House, Canberra (DEC 2013, department of education) part of this apology read out by Prime Minister Apology said

Second, I have also learned the importance of the ‘forgive and forget’ mentality. Having practice every day, it is easy to get on each others nerves. However, it is important to realize that every day is a new day. Before coming to a conclusion, it is crucial to listen to both sides and also take emotions into consideration.

On February 13th, 2008, indigenous and aboriginal people across all of Australia were deeply moved and in tears; The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, had finally apologised the Stolen Generations in his ‘sorry’ speech. The Apology was an important step towards rebuilding respectful and new relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, and to honour and apologize to stolen generations. Many Australians believe that respectful relationships are essential if we are to solve persistent problems. But poll results can sometimes show otherwise. We will see how the media saw the ‘sorry’ apology, how aboriginal and non- indigenous people felt and how they received the apology and also check out poll results. We will

Children where place in institution where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society, and only in rare cases were children permitted to see their parents or families, such was the extent to which the separation community and culture was enforced. Throughout the early 1900s, the Australian public was led to believe that Aboriginal children were disadvantaged and at risk in their own communities, and that they would receive a better education, a more loving family, and a more civilised upbringing in adopted white families or in government institutions. However, in reality they were removed for the purpose of stoping their parents, families and communities from passing on their culture, language and identity to them. It was hoped that by separating these mixed race children from their families, community, land and culture, assimilation into white Australian society would be all the more effective, with the mixed descent Aboriginal population in time merging with the non-Indigenous population, and effectively eliminating that of the Aboriginal race. On the 16th of November, 2009 the prime minister of the time, Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to the Forgotten Australians and former child migrants.

Forgiveness is a voluntary process and only time can heal all wounds. Scratch that- time won’t heal all wounds and forgiving someone is totally and completely up to you. When stating that forgiveness is “voluntary,” it simply means that one is forgiving someone at their own free will. The question is “why? why must we forgive someone after doing something so awful?” The answer might be complex. In the book “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton and Erin Torneo, and in the book “Beauty for Ashes” written by Joyce Meyer, forgiveness is portrayed as a big role. Each person goes through their own struggles and eventually has to forgive someone or be forgiven by someone.

The apology letter that Kevin Rudd made to Australia’s Indigenous people refers to The Stolen Generation which were Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal Australians who were as children, forcibly removed from their parents and siblings and communities by welfare, government or church authorities and placed into things like institutional care or with a non- Indigenous foster family. the children were taken with hope to kill out their whole indigenous culture and children were forced to adapt to white culture.

The Indigenous people who are alive today survived from centuries of colonialism, and lived with the trauma of a stolen identity. On January 26th every year, Aboriginal people commemorate Australia Day as Invasion day. This is a tradition shaped in 1988 to remember surviving 200years of colonization. The Apology to Australia’s Indigenous People was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on February 13, 2008 and pledged the government and country to respect their rights to self-determination and accept parliamentary and governmental responsibility for over two centuries of oppressive and discriminatory policies with the ‘Stolen Generations’. The Apology is a remark hinting at the vestige of colonialism.

Kevin Rudd’s speech in 2008 was the greatest first step towards the reuniting of Australians, Indigenous and non-indigenous. In Rudd’s speech he had apologised to the mistreatment of the indigenous, the suffering that they have caused and the taking of the Stolen Generations. His speech also states that he hopes for the future that

When we hurt someone, whether intentionally or accidentally, a sincere well stated apology can usually fix it. In the well-stated apology, the offender takes responsibility for a specific offense, and makes expressions of regret sincere, timely and brief. Giving an appropriate apology is a skill that can be learned. Many think that if no harm was intended, no apology is required. Not so. I would not intentionally spill ink on my neighbor’s carpet, but I sincerely regret the spilling, and I am responsible for the damage that was done. Sincerity is of course the most important ingredient in an expression of regret. A sincere apology requires the person who has offended to take responsibility for the offence. For example, "I’m sorry I didn’t make

It is more difficult to forgive yourself if the person you have hurt doesn't forgive you. If you hurt a person you care about, you most likely will feel guilty. If the person doesn't forgive you for what you did, it shows a sign that you have really hurt the persons emotions. It might even be harder to forgive yourself if the person is ignoring you.