Community LinksPublishers & SuppliersHistories & Community StoriesThe First Australians - SBS documentary series Barani - Indigenous History of Sydney City Wallumedegal -An Aboriginal History of Ryde NPWS - DECC Aboriginal Publications Australian Indigenous Services - State Library of NSW Australian Museum - Aboriginal History State Records NSW - Guide to Aboriginal records Mura Gadi - National Library of Australia Australian Centre for Indigenous History | Education LinksAboriginal Education K-12 Resource Guide - NSW Department of Education & Training Aboriginal Education - Board of Studies NSW - Aboriginal Educational Contexts NSW Department of Education & Training HSIE 11-12 Aboriginal Studies Edna.edu.au - Indigenous Education Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Library & Information Resource Network Inc. ATSILIRN Warawara - Dept of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University Koori Centre, University of Sydney Nura Gili Indigenous Programme, UNSW Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies, University of Newcastle Gunada Centre for Aboriginal Studies - Curtin University The ApologyToday we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures 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. |