“How dare you”: PM’s ‘apology’ to Stolen Generations slammed
Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe is among many Indigenous leaders who have criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for asking for forgiveness on the anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations.
Mr Morrison spoke about the anniversary in a speech to Parliament on Monday, marking 14 years since former Prime Minister Rudd made the historic apology.
The Rudd government issued the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples in 2008, acknowledging the historic laws and policies that led to the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and communities.
Mr Morrison said an apology involves “standing in the middle ground exposed, vulnerable and seeking forgiveness”.
“And as I said when I spoke in support of the original motion here in this place on the other side of the Chamber 14 years ago, sorry can never be given without any expectation of forgiveness. But there can be hope,” Mr Morrison said.
“Forgiveness is never earned or deserved. It’s an act of courage. And it is a gift that only those who have been wounded, damaged and destroyed can offer.
“Forgiveness transcends all of that. It’s an act of grace. It’s an act of courage. And it is a gift that only those who have been wounded, damaged and destroyed can offer.
“I also said 14 years ago, ‘sorry is not the hardest word to say, the hardest is I forgive you’.”
Following Mr Morrison’s speech, Senator Thorpe shared her criticism of the Prime Minister on Twitter, saying he had shown “outright disrespect” to members of the Stolen Generations.
“This is outright disrespect to all those affected by Stolen Generations in this country,” the Greens member wrote.
“How dare you ask for forgiveness when you still perpetrate racist policies and systems that continue to steal our babies. That is not an apology.”
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the organisation responsible for developing a treaty with the state government, also released a statement on Twitter, simply stating: “Get in the bin.”
Marcus Stewart, a co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly, later shared a translation of the statement in Taungurung - the language spoken by the Taungurung people whose country encompasses much of central Victoria.
“Some people have said our media release was rude,” he captioned the photo of the translated statement.
“For the haters, is it more poetic in language?”
Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt also made a statement marking the anniversary in Parliament, where he said that although acknowledging “the wrongdoing can ease some suffering, it will never remove it”.
Image: House of Representatives