Marking the 14th Anniversary of the National Apology to Australia’s Indigenous People

Sunday 13 February marked the 14th Anniversary of the National Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples.

”Fourteen years have passed since we had said sorry here in this place.”

In 2008, the formal apology, delivered by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, was given to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly to the Stolen Generations, who had been impacted by cruel government policies of forced child removal and assimilation.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently said each anniversary was an opportunity for Australia to remind itself of times past and lessons learned. The nation also remembers the mistreatment of Aboriginal communities on National Sorry Day, or the National Day of Healing, which is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May since 1998, the year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Bringing Them Home report is a result of a Government Inquiry into the past policies which caused indigenous children to be removed from their families and communities.

LiverWELL pays respects to the members of the Stolen Generations, survivors past and present, and their families and communities, and we acknowledge and reflect upon the tremendous suffering and trauma experienced across generations through forcible removal by successive colonial and Australian governments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.  LiverWELL celebrates the strength, resilience, and courage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities, and we strive to work together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Community Organisations toward better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, particularly regarding challenging viral hepatitis and enhancing liver health.

For more information please visit:
indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/stories/14th-anniversary-apology-indigenous-peoples