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.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a formal apology for the historical injustices faced by Indigenous Australians, particularly focusing on the removal of children from their families.
Kevin Rudd's quote serves as a powerful acknowledgment of the immense pain and suffering caused by government policies that led to the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The apology highlights the need for recognition of past wrongs and the impact of these actions on communities, emphasizing a commitment to healing and reconciliation for a better future.
In practice
Opening a conference on reconciliation and acknowledgment of historical injustices.
As nations we should also commit afresh to righting past wrongs. In Australia we began this recently with the first Australians - the oldest continuing culture in human history. On behalf of the Australian Parliament, this year I offered an apology to indigenous Australians for the wrongs they had suffered in the past.
We are so fortunate, as Australians, to have among us the oldest continuing cultures in human history. Cultures that link our nation with deepest antiquity. We have Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley that is as ancient as the great Palaeolithic cave paintings at Altamira and Lascaux in Europe.
I think there's a lot of gay women in sports, and it's widely known in the team; they can live a pretty open lifestyle without being open in the media.
Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours.
The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.
Baboons who have friends do much better in terms of their physiology. And if that applies to a baboon, it could certainly apply for a human.
People don't know how to place me in their consciousness. They think, 'Oh, you must be here to make me look good. That's what gay guys are, right? You're an accessory for my straight life.' Just because your limited view is that everyone's there to serve you and that you're the only person in the world. It doesn't work that way.
Can anyone understand how it is to have lived in the White House and then, suddenly, to be living alone as the President's widow?
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