National Apology to Forgotten Australians

Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women
The Honourable Karen Struthers
16/11/2009
National Apology to Forgotten Australians
 
Community Services Minister Karen Struthers said her Department would host a community event on the Speaker's Green today to coincide with the Prime Minister's National Apology to Forgotten Australians and former child migrants.

Minister Struthers said the Bligh Government fully supported the Prime Minister in a National Apology.

"It is just. It is right and it reflects the Queensland Labor Government's formal apology in State Parliament in 1999," Ms Struthers said.

"What happened to those children is now a sad part of our nation's collective history - so many people suffered so much abuse for so long, at the hands of those who were meant to care for them.

"I'm not talking about ancient history, but vivid memories, fresh in the minds of people, who, as children, were living in those cold, dark places.

"Saying sorry was the right thing to do. So too, was our $100 million redress scheme.

"While no amount of money can ever make up for what they went through, as a Government we were able to take practical steps: to help shattered families reunite, to help restore lost parenting skills, and to help with counselling and support for people who sexually and physically abused," Ms Struthers said.

"The Bligh Government is committed to doing everything we possibly can to help ensure the wrongs of the past are never repeated," she said.

Two months ago a Remembrance Day was held in Parliament House to mark the 10th anniversary of the Forde Inquiry into the abuse of children in Queensland institutions.

"It was a day for all of us to remember the lessons of the past and to learn about our folly when visible difference leads to discrimination. Since the Forde Inquiry, the evidence is out on the table and a National Apology is a necessary step forward.

"I urge all Queenslanders to join the rest of the nation in demonstrating that we have the maturity and willingness to acknowledge a part of our past that was so unjust and so wrong," she said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs, Julie Attwood and the Member for Mulgrave, Curtis Pitt, will represent the Queensland Government at the National Apology in Canberra.

Here in Queensland, the Department of Communities will host a community event on the Speaker's Green from 9.30am at Parliament House with a live broadcast from the nation's capital.

The live broadcast will follow an address by Leneen Forde, Chair of the Forde Inquiry. Former residents living in south east Queensland who suffered abuse and neglect in Queensland institutions have been invited to attend.