TRANSCRIPT
Victoria Police have issued an apology to survivors of the Stolen Generation, acknowledging its role in the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families in the state.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton led the apology, saying while they cannot change the past, they must learn from it.
"This apology is long overdue. As chief commissioner and on behalf of Victoria Police, I am here with you today to formally and unreservedly apologise to survivors of the Stolen Generations and their families for the role of Victoria Police that we played in the forceable removal of Aboriginal children from their families, culture and country."
Survivors have been calling for such an apology for more than 27 years.
It was also a key recommendation arising from the Yoorrook Justice Commission's truth-telling inquiry.
The chair of Connecting Home, a culturally safe support service for Stolen Generations, Ian Hamm is among those taken from his family who have advocated for this recognition.
"And there's many reasons why I never thought that day would come, particularly now. It's not the time. This is not the time to do it. Particularly in post-referendum Australia, where less than a year ago most of our fellow Australians, indeed most of our fellow Victorians said you must stay at the bottom. It wasn't a referendum about a constitutional change about how we speak to government, it was a national survey on what is the place of the Aborigines in 21st Century Australia. And two out of every three Australians said, at the bottom. And I don't care what lipstick anyone tries to put on the feral pig of 'No'; that's the truth of it."
And with the result of this year's Referendum still hanging heavy for many First Nations people, he says now is an opportunity to move forward, even as unresolved challenges persist in police engagement with Indigenous Australians.
"Quite simply because it is the right thing to do. It's the decent thing to do. It's the only thing to do. This is not a day of celebration. I can see that in the faces, I can see that in the tears of people. The only thing it is, is a sense of relief. It's the same relief I felt when I stood over there and watched Kevin Rudd up here on the screen. It's the relief that I don't have to argue my story was real; we don't have to argue that our existence is real."
It's been 16 years since former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally acknowledged in Federal Parliament the suffering caused by decades of mistreatment of Indigenous Australians.
Across the country, crowds gathered in schools, community halls and on parliament lawns to witness the historic event.
"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."
Mutti-Mutti man and singer Kutcha Edwards is one of the Stolen Generations.
At 18 months old, he was taken away from his family along with five of his siblings.
Singing at Friday's event, Mr Edwards became emotional while paying tribute to his mother and family.
Singing: "So many years have passed now. We're all home for good. She finally got permission. I knew she always would. Our lives are changed forever, since we walked through the door. But the heartache, the pain and sorrow, is too hard ignore. Excuse me Mrs Edwards..."
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton also recognised the exact number of First Nations people forcibly removed cannot be known due to failures in record-keeping.
But he says the impact of hurt and sorrow has been inflicted across generations.
