Apology to Stolen Generation - Kevin Rudd

29th January 2008 - Kevin Rudd - Prime Minister

Transcript of Part of an Interview on Sunrise Programme

MEL: The Prime Minister joins us now from Canberra. Good morning to you, Mr Rudd.

PM: Good morning Kochie, good morning Mel. Happy New Year and to your viewers.

MEL: To you too

PM: Did you have a good break?

MEL: Yeah we had a lovely break, it was really good, came back refreshed. As have you I am sure. Tell us about the apology. Will you be making it when Parliament resumes on February 12?

PM: What we’re trying to do is do it as early as possible in the parliamentary term. We haven’t finally set dates yet. We are in the process of talking to as many indigenous groups across the country as possible. We want to get this right.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

The objective is to just build this bridge of respect between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia so that we can get on with the business of closing the gap in terms of life expectancy, education levels and health levels between indigenous and non-indigenous communities.

MEL: Kevin it’s such an emotional issue for a lot of people, not only for indigenous Australians but for a lot of white Australians as well. What do you say to people out there saying “Mate, we have got nothing to apologise for, it happened a long time ago, why do we need to say it?”

PM: Well look this apology will be delivered on behalf of the Government, ok and therefore we will be making it clear that we will be speaking in the Government’s name.

The views of individual Australians, of course they are entitled to hold because we have got a wonderful democracy.

Why have we been long term committed to this – and I was very up front about this prior to the election, there are no surprises here, I have said this beforehand was what we’d be doing, is because as I travel around the country this is unfinished business.

It’s very hard to get to the point of then engaging with every indigenous community on the practical future challenges of closing, for example, the infant mortality gap - aboriginal kids, three times more likely to die under the age of 5 than a non-indigenous kid. And the same on literacy, numeracy, all those basic tests.

So the judgment I have made and we as the Government made is, let’s get this symbolic act of apology right and then let’s move on together. If I have got a vision for the country, is that aboriginal Australia, non-aboriginal Australia moving forward to fix the practical challenges on the ground in those communities.

KOCHIE: So what you’re saying is, you’re finding out in Aboriginal communities, when you want to help on literacy, help on health, they’ve - it’s the wrong description - but they sort of have got a bit of a bee in their bonnet about the apology thing. So, we need to need to get that out of the way before all sides start working through these bigger issues which I think we all think we all agree, that we have got to resolve?

PM: Yeah. Both symbols and substance are important. That’s just the truth of it. Not every indigenous community raises this with me, but a lot of them do. And what I am trying to do – and it’s very tough because so many indigenous groups across the country have different views - but we will try and get this language right, we’ll try and do it as early as possible so that we can all cross that bridge of respect, mutual respect and get on with these massive practical challenges in communities.

MEL: Kevin, one last one on this issue because I want to cover a few things with you. The other word is compensation. So many emails are coming in from our viewers saying they fear that this is going to open up a floodgate of compensation claims. Is that a misguided fear?

PM: We will not be establishing any compensation fund. I said that before the election, I say it again. And since the Stolen Generation report came out years and years ago, it has been open for any individual, Aboriginal person affected by that to engage their own legal actions through the courts of their State or Territory. That’s fine. But at the level of national Government, we will not be establishing any compensation fund.

This is about getting the symbolic covenant, if you like, between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia right and then moving on. When it comes to future funding commitments from the Government that I lead, it will be about fixing health, fixing schools and fixing communities in a very practical way on the ground, in partnership with local aboriginal leadership.