POST SUBTITLE: In which Scott Morrison's personal philosophy markedly resembles that of those religious institutions which historically assisted successive colonial and state governments to oppress First Nations people within Australia and its island territories whilst pursuing the eradication of First Nations spirituality, cultures and languages.
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Apology to the Stolen Generations
A section of the invited guests,
Australian Parliament, Wednesday, 13 February 2008
IMAGE:Mark Baker/AFP/Getty Images in The Guardian |
On
14 February 2022 the Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for
Cook, Scott Morrison, rose to his feet in the House of
Representatives to acknowledge the 14th anniversary of
the 13 February 2008 Apology
to the Stolen Generations
given
by then Prime Minister & Labor MP for Griffith, Kevin
Rudd.
In
part Morrison’s
speech stated:
“Mr
Speaker, we are on a journey to make peace with our past. And it’s
a difficult journey and it is an important one, to draw together the
past, the present, and future, so we can truly be one and free.
We
belong to a story - from time immemorial, a continent that contends
with us all, and the work of building a strong, sovereign and vibrant
democracy that gives us all a voice.
But
we don’t seek to sugarcoat this story. We don’t turn aside from
the injustices, contentions and abrasions. That’s what successful
liberal democracies do. We must remember if we are to shape the
future, and to do so wisely.
So
as we do this at this time every year, we remember the Stolen
Generations. Children taken from their parents. I say it again,
children taken from their parents. No parent, no child could fail to
understand the devastation of that, regardless of whatever their
background is. Children taken from their parents. Families and
communities torn apart. Again and again and again.
With
that trauma, disconnection, and unquenching pain, came a national
shame and a deep wound. Separated from country, from kinship, from
family, from language, from identity. Becoming even strangers to
themselves.
Fourteen
years have passed since we had said sorry here in this place.
Sorry
for the cold laws that broke apart families.
Sorry
for the brutalities that were masked even under the guise of
protection and even compassion.
Sorry
for believing that Indigenous people were not capable of stewarding
their own lives.
Sorry
for the failure to respect, to understand, to appreciate.
Sorry
for the lives damaged and destroyed.
So
on this day, and every year since, we are right to remind ourselves
of times past - not to re-ignite the coals of pain, or to bring
division where there are the beginnings of healing, but to be mindful
of the lessons learned. To turn again from the great Australian
silence, and towards each other.
And
to again say: we are sorry.
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.
I
said an apology “involves … standing in the middle ground
exposed, vulnerable and seeking forgiveness”.
Forgiveness
is never earned or deserved. It can never be justified on the simple
weighing of hurts and grievance. Such measures will never rationally
tip the balance in favour of forgiveness.
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 fourteen years ago, “sorry is not the hardest word to
say, the hardest is I forgive you”.
But
I do know that such a path of forgiveness does lead to healing. It
does open up a new opportunity. It does offer up release from the
bondage of pain and suffering that no simple apology on its own can
achieve.
And
nor do I believe that such forgiveness is a corporate matter. It can
only begin with the individual. And forgiveness does not mean
forgetting. Nor does it mean that there are not consequences for
actions, and the need for redress and restitution.
This
is a hard conversation. I know that Danny Abdallah, who together
with his wife Leila knows a lot about loss and grief, and they have
begun this conversation with Indigenous community leaders through the
i4Give you foundation that he has established in memory of their
children Antony, Angelina and Sienna and their niece [Veronique].
Out
of great tragedy and loss there can rise hope. And I wish them all
the very best for these conversations.” [my yellow highlighting]
The
response to Morrison’s words on "forgiveness" was immediate.
News.com.au, 14 February 2022:
“I said 14 years ago, ‘Sorry is not the hardest word to say … the hardest is I forgive you.’”
Mr Morrison’s statement immediately came under fire, with some people labelling the last six words as “utterly reprehensible”.
Indigenous Greens senator Lidia Thorpe said Mr Morrison’s statement was “not an apology”.
“This is outright disrespectful to all those affected by stolen generations in this country,” she said.
“How dare you ask forgiveness when you still perpetrate racist policies and systems that continue to steal our babies.”
