By Roopa Varadharajan, UNICEF Australia Young Ambassador.
"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.”
These were the words that thousands of Aboriginals were waiting to hear. Inside Parliament House on 13 February 2008, it received a standing ovation from those who were fortunate enough to hear it first-hand. But more significantly, it marked an important step towards recognition and appreciation of Australia’s first owners.
This week we reflect on the milestone of the 4th anniversary of the Australian Government’s apology to Indigenous Australians. For many young Australians such as myself, it finally brings to the forefront the mistreatment of Australian Aboriginals, at times even questioning all that we learnt in primary and high school history lessons.
There is no doubt that the Apology is seen as one of Australia’s greatest achievements as a nation. However, in recent times it has been questioned whether Australia is “still barely scratching the surface” in its efforts to achieve reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. There have definitely been some measurable gains since 2008, in areas such as child mortality rates, housing, education and employment outcomes. However, I personally believe that more work needs to be done to ensure that the Apology is nothing more than a mere collection of words strung together.
The
Listen to Children report launched in July 2011, highlights some of the systematic problems that still exist in Australia to protect our most vulnerable children. This report shows that Australia has not developed child-sensitive laws, policies, initiatives and systems, especially in relation to Aboriginal children.
To highlight the findings and recommendations in this report UNICEF Australia was part of the Australian NGO delegation that presented this report to the UN Child Rights Committee in Geneva last October. By raising the issues in the
Listen to Children report, the delegation made recommendations in relation to a range of human rights violations affecting Australian children, particularly Aboriginals. These included the Northern Territory intervention, the systematic disadvantage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and juvenile justice. As a signatory of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Australian Government will be presenting their own report on the state of child rights in Australia to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in May 2012.
This gives all Australians an important opportunity to see how our Government plans to put the sentiment of the 2008 Apology into action for Indigenous children.
So this week, spend a moment thinking about the impact we want the Apology to have. Let’s work together to make 13 February 2008 a day that counts.
What you can do:
- If you’d like to actively get involved, projects such as the Aurora Internship allows university students to go to a rural community and work under an organisation that is related to Indigenous affairs such as the Aboriginal Legal Service or the National Native Title Council.
What do you think? Have your say by leaving a comment below.
Blog post currently doesn't have any comments.