Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples
Keating's Liberal successor John Howard received the report, but eschewed use of the term "sorry", believing a Parliamentary "apology" would imply "intergenerational guilt".
He instead moved to draft a Parliamentary "Motion of Reconciliation", in consultation with Democrat Senator Aden Ridgeway, the only Aboriginal person then sitting in the federal parliament.
Nelson stated, "I, on behalf of the Coalition, of the alternative government of Australia, are [sic] providing in-principle support for the offer of an apology to the forcibly removed generations of Aboriginal children".
I can recall seeing my mother standing on the side of the road with her head in her hands, crying, and me in the black FJ Holden wondering why she was so upset.
[12] The apology read as follows:[10][13] I move: That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human 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.
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.
We will be at our best today and every day if we pause to place ourselves in the shoes of others, imbued with the imaginative capacity to see this issue through their eyes with decency and respect.Nelson's speech also expressed empathy for how the often "good intentions" of the public servants who carried out the removal of children had led to unintended consequences.
[16][17] It is reasonably argued that removal from squalor led to better lives: children fed, housed and educated for an adult world which they could not have imagined.
The Alice Springs Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers with great courage revealed to the nation in 2006 the case of a four-year-old girl drowned while being raped by a teenager who had been sniffing petrol.
Six members of Nelson's opposition caucus—Don Randall, Sophie Mirabella, Dennis Jensen, Wilson Tuckey, Luke Simpkins, and Alby Schultz—left the House in protest at the apology.
[17] Former prime ministers Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser and Paul Keating all expressed appreciation for Nelson's role.
[25] Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, gave a speech formally responding to the government's apology.
The Leader of the Greens, Senator Bob Brown, attempted to amend the motion to have it include words committing parliament to offering compensation to those who suffered loss under past indigenous policies, but was opposed by all the other parties.
[35] It won Best Direction of a Documentary Feature Film from the Australian Directors Guild in 2018 and was nominated in three categories in the 2018 AACTA Awards.
