Peter Dutton, the leader of the Liberal Party, has apologized for abstaining from the 2008 National Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Mr. Dutton, the lone frontbencher from the Opposition who voted against the apology, claims he was wrong to do so.
I didn’t understand at the time how symbolic the apology was to the Stolen Generation, Mr. Dutton claimed.
Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, was correct to apologize in 2008.
Mr. Dutton has previously recognized that it was a mistake for him to abstain from the national apology because at the time he believed the government should only issue one after closing the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
On the fifteenth anniversary of the apology address, Minister Linda Burney for Indigenous Australians thanked Mr. Dutton for his apologies.
$396 million Plan for closing the gap
As it introduces a new national strategy, the federal government admits that efforts to reduce the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians have been a “enormous failure.”
“We all learn and we all evolve, but the apology was something to reject for some,” Ms. Burney added.
She claimed that by supporting the Voice to Parliament in a referendum, Mr. Dutton and his party now had an opportunity to cooperate with the government.
It’s excellent that we learn and develop, but now we have the potential to work together to make a real difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, she said.
“It’s crucial for people to keep us accountable, and getting things done is important.
The Stolen Generations—Indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their families by successive governments—were the subject of a formal apology from the government to Indigenous Australians on February 13, 2008.
According to government estimates, between 1910 and 1970, one in ten Indigenous children were forcefully removed from their homes.
According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, all Australians should follow the graciousness of the victims of those policies who came to parliament to hear the apology.
They proved to us, he continued, “that when we are brave enough to admit failure, we can find the strength to take the next step forward together.”
He claimed that by passing a Voice to Parliament, the nation might move to the next stage.
“This journey has been requested of the Australian people through the invitation included in the Uluru Statement. We have a chance to usher in a new season of brightness and a future that includes everyone, according to Mr. Albanese.
Supporter of the Voice and Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser said the occasion was an opportunity to remember to pay attention to and include Indigenous views.
He repeatedly called for a royal commission to look into the mistreatment of Indigenous children and said that the government was failing to close the gap.
“It is in the best interests of our country to pay attention to the Indigenous Australians’ voices at this time. The voices that do not already have a platform in Australian public life must be heard, he insisted.
We can no longer afford to ignore these voices if we want to end the cycle.
