On 13 February each year, we acknowledge the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations – a defining moment in Australia’s history.
JCTS recognises the significance of this anniversary as a time for reflection, healing, and ongoing commitment to reconciliation. We acknowledge the deep trauma and intergenerational impacts that continue to affect many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This date serves as a powerful reminder of past injustices, as well as the resilience and strength of Stolen Generations survivors, their families, and communities. JCTS remains dedicated to fostering cultural safety, understanding, and meaningful action in support of reconciliation and healing.
The Stolen Generations
Between 1910 and 1970, thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities by churches, welfare organisations and governments. Although the exact number is unknown, it is estimated that from 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and fostered or adopted by non-Indigenous families or raised in institutions. These children are known as the Stolen Generations.
The removals were part of government policies that aimed to assimilate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into the white community. Their names were often changed, and they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages. Many experienced neglect, physical and sexual abuse and exploitative labour, and were denied contact with their families.
The National Inquiry
The journey to National Apology began with the Bringing Them Home report – the findings of an inquiry instigated by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 1995. The inquiry named the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families received nearly 800 submissions, including evidence from 535 from Indigenous individuals and organisations.
Bringing Them Home Report
On 26 May 1997, the Inquiry’s Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Report documented the grief and loss caused by the breaking of cultural, spiritual, and family ties, and the intergenerational impact on the lives and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as their resilience and dignity. The report contained 54 recommendations about how to address and heal the effects of the forced removals and the laws and policies of previous governments on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A key recommendation of the report was the need for an official acknowledgement of and apology for the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
The National Apology
The Prime Minister at the time of the release of the Bringing them Home report, John Howard, had consistently refused to make an apology to the Stolen Generations. However, following his election win in 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd committed to making the apology in his first year in office.
On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology on behalf of the nation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations whose lives had been devastated by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation.
Many Stolen Generations members gathered at Parliament House to hear the apology. For the first time, a Welcome to Country ceremony was held at the opening of Parliament. Delivered in a televised statement to both Houses of Parliament and to members of the Stolen Generations present, the landmark speech acknowledged the harm done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
I move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s 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.
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.
The Hon Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008
After the Apology
The National Apology to the Stolen Generations was a significant milestone for healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who suffered as a result of past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation.
In 2017, 20 years since the Bringing Them Home Report was released, the Healing Foundation released Bringing Them Home 20 years on: An action plan for healing. The report showed that despite two decades passing, the majority of recommendations in the report had not yet been implemented and the effects were still being felt.
This new report found that the trauma and distress felt by members of the Stolen Generation have also affected their children, grand-children and great-grandchildren. This is commonly described as intergenerational trauma – where the trauma is passed down from generation to generation.
It is important that, as a nation, we commemorate and acknowledge the wrongs of the past, while reflecting on the work that still needs to be done to address the impacts of unresolved trauma.
Hear stories from survivors of the Stolen Generations
Stolen Generations survivors are some of Australia’s most vulnerable people and many have kept their stories and experiences secret for many years, even decades. Through hearing the resilient stories of Stolen Generations survivors there is now a willingness for Australians to join in on the healing journey. The following are a selection of videos we encourage you to take time to watch to deepen your understanding of the impact of the government policies that led to the Stolen Generations.
- HRAFF 2018 | After the Apology Trailer
- 10th Anniversary since the Apology to the Stolen Generations – Behind the News
- The story of Stolen Generations survivor Aunty Julie Black, a 64-year-old Barkindji woman, who was taken from her mother shortly after birth. View the video
- Donna Meehan’s testimony of the Stolen Generations: View the video
- George Tongerie’s testimony of the Stolen Generations: View the video
