Listen to: Australia Confesses, asks for forgiveness, apologises, Kevin Rudd’s speech to Parliament, February 13, 2008

Download: The entire text of the speech to Parliament by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, February 13, 2008 (pdf)

The Government has to explain why it happened. What was the intention? I have to know why I was taken. I have to know why I was given the life I was given and why I’m scarred today. Why was my Mum meant to suffer? Why was I made to suffer with no Aboriginality and no identity, no culture? Why did they think that the life they gave me was better than the one my Mum would give me?

And an apology is important because I’ve never been apologised to. My mother’s never been apologised to, not once, and I would like to be apologised to.

Thirdly, I’ve been a victim and I’ve suffered and I’ll suffer until the day I die for what I’ve never had and what I can never have. I just have to get on with my life but compensation would help. It doesn’t take the pain away. It doesn’t take the suffering away. It doesn’t take the memories away. It doesn’t bring my mother back. But it has to be recognised.

And I shouldn’t forget counselling. I’ve had to counsel myself all my life from a very young age. And in the homes I never showed my tears … I’ve been told that I need to talk about my childhood. I need to be counselled for me to get back on with my life.
Confidential evidence 139, Victoria: woman removed at 12 months in 1967.
Source: Bringing Them Home - The Stolen Generations Report (1997)

Everyone’s writing about it, Cheryl, Rob, Duncan, Grant, Priscilla, Age, Paul, Andrew Hamilton, Keith Garner, Rodney. Everybody’s reporting it, News.com, the SMH, The Age, The Australian, the ABC… Everyone’s talking about it, Missy Higgins, Michael Caton, Michael O’Loughlin, Leah Purcell… Everybody’s counting on it, reconcile.org.au, Uniting Care NSW/ACT, The Uniting Church and UAICC…

And if you’re after resources to help you and your young people / community work through it all check out Sandy Boyce’s website, reconcile.org.au, the SMH has a media site with multimedia resource or the “Bringing them home: The ‘Stolen Children’ report“which also hosts “Us Taken-Away Kids commemorating the 10th anniversary - 11 December 2007″ and the “Bringing them home education module“and a paper delivered by Sir Ronald Wilson titled “Why Human Rights Matter for Everyone“…

The “Bringing them home: The ‘Stolen Children’ report” was received in 1997, sharing the stories of Indigenous Australians, of sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, elders, sports people, lawyers , politicians, story tellers and more who had suffered through the Government’s actions in removing children from their families, communities, land and country. and now, over 10 years later now, as a community, as a nation we have taken the first step in the journey. I pray that people like Sir Ron Wilson who championed this report can be at rest with the journey that he helped us begin way back when he, and many others opened their ears, their hearts, their minds and their souls to listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians all over Australia and hear their grief, their stories. And, for the Indigenous Australians, both past, present and future I pray that this step is one of many that will be taken by us all, together.

As I think about the apology, the Liberal leader’s response, the media’s and the publics reactions I am amazed at the power of the act of confession, of recognising wrongs done and without qualification confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness. I resonate with some of what Cheryl’s written recently about the act of confession and it’s connection to the Lenten period, is it any surprise that an act of this kind of repentance is happening only a few weeks prior to Easter, during the time where we, as a people are asked to confess, to repent, to ask for forgiveness?

The act of confession is not about forgiveness, it’s a huge step in one’s life when we are able to recognise and put into words our own wrongs, the act of confession is just that, getting on our knees, beating our chest and crying out “I am a sinner” with the full knowledge of our wrongs.

Forgiveness is another step, but it’s not one that the confesser can control, or orchestrate, sure, it can be hoped for, but not expected. Which is where the story of Christ comes in and smacks us over the back of the head, because it’s in this story that we’re called to recognise our wrongs and to turn away from them and ask for confession from people, community, God but it also seems to call to us as followers of Christ to forgive. Forgiveness should be in our nature as christians, just as much as confession should be a part of our nature.

As a country we’ve suffered, we’ve removed the act of confession from our nature and as we’ve done that we’ve withheld the right of hearing confession and the possibility of offering forgiveness from those who we’ve wronged. No, forgiveness should not be an expectation when confessing, which I think is where the Liberal Leader Nelson went wrong in his speech.

But now, we are a nation who has been able to practice the act of confession, together we were able to get on our knees and confess.

Now the ears of those wronged have heard our confession, as have the ears of those who have wronged. The opportunity to forgive, the space to act on the confession has been given to those wronged, no we should’nt expect it, but for once in their life the power to do so or not is not in our hands or mouths.

Sorry, such a small word, a word that’s taken not only 10 years to say, but much longer than that, was it really that hard to pass our lips as a nation?

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