[Dialogue] Fw: Memo - National apology

[Hampton, Stuart]

WA marks apology from Perth to Oombulgurri


12th February 2008, 14:30 WST

 

Thousands are expected to celebrate on Perth's Swan river foreshore and
in Aboriginal communities across Western Australia tomorrow as the
federal government apologises to the stolen generations.

Big screens are being set up around the state, including eight at the
Esplanade in Perth, to broadcast the historic apology which begins at
7am  tomorrow.

The South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council says it is preparing to
provide breakfast for 2,000 before and during the live and repeat
broadcasts.

The live broadcast will be over before WA schools start for the day, but
the State School Teachers' Union of Western Australia says it is
encouraging teachers to participate in the occasion by discussing it
with students.

Events are being held around the state, including at the far northern
Aboriginal community of Oombulgurri and in Halls Creek, where a lunch
will be held for members of the stolen generations.

A planned ceremony in Broome may be cancelled if a tropical low off the
coast develops into a tropical cyclone.

WA Indigenous Affairs Minister Michelle Roberts noted Aboriginal
children were still being taken away from their parents in the 1960s and
1970s.

"Saying sorry will not end our nation's responsibility towards its
indigenous citizens," Ms Roberts said.

WA Equal Opportunity Commissioner Yvonne Henderson said an apology
recognised the institutionalised racial discrimination that once existed
in Australia.

"An apology is an essential step in the conciliation process so that the
healing may begin," Ms Henderson said.

The WA government apologised to Aboriginal people in 1997.

 

(from thewest.com.au) The West Australian 

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