Today marks a significant day in Australian history as we are asked to choose to say sorry on National Apology Day. 

Following Kevin Rudd’s first ever national apology in 2008, we continue to reflect on the pivotal first step taken to reconcile with Indigenous Australians by acknowledging the injustices faced by Indigenous Australian communities and the heartbreaking chapter of forced removal during the assimilation era.

We as Australians are urged to make a powerful choice by saying sorry. 

Apologising means more than admitting fault, it is a vital step to acknowledging our history, showing empathy and committing to a better future. It also serves as a day to truly honour the resilience of Indigenous Australians and reaffirm our dedication to reconciliation and justice. 

The most effective way to say sorry today requires us to reflect on our history and understand Australia’s colonial past and the impact it has had on our Indigenous people. We can express empathy by listening to Indigenous voices, validating their experiences and offering support. 

On this Chooseday, we must choose compassion, understanding and reconciliation. Together we can pave the way for a future built on respect, unity and healing. 

I move:

That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

The Hon Kevin Rudd

13 February 2008