On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations, on behalf of the nation at Australian Parliament House.

It is estimated that as many as one in three Indigenous children were taken from their families between 1910 and the 1970s as part of formal government assimilationist policies

The Apology acknowledged that ‘the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments had resulted in the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and ‘inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians’.

On this anniversary, CLCQ would also like to acknowledge that the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families is not just an historic atrocity, but an ongoing modern day tragedy.

Rates of child removal from First Nations families are increasing, with data from Closing the Gap target 12 worsening since 2019.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately affected by youth justice and child incarceration policies and we know that First Nations families and children are suffering serious ongoing harm from policies that separate children from their homes and the people who love them.

More information:

Bringing Them Home: https://humanrights.gov.au/bringing-them-home/index.html

Closing the Gap Target 12: https://www.pc.gov.au/.../outcome-area/child-protection/

National Apology: https://www.nma.gov.au/definin.../resources/national-apology