Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has warned those who boycotted the apology to the stolen generations 15 years ago to not repeat the mistakes of the past when it comes to a Voice to Parliament.
Key points:
- Linda Burney says those who walked out on the apology should avoid taking similar actions against the Voice
- Peter Dutton was the only Coalition frontbencher to walk out of parliament during the 2008 apology to the stolen generations
- Mr Dutton has since said it was a mistake to refuse to support the apology
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was the only Coalition frontbencher to walk out of parliament when then-prime minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the stolen generations in 2008.
He told the ABC in 2010 he stayed away because he regarded it as “something which was not going to deliver tangible outcomes to kids who are being raped and tortured in communities in the 21st century”.
But last year, he said he made a mistake in refusing to support the apology.
While not mentioning Mr Dutton by name, Ms Burney told a Canberra event marking the 15-year anniversary of the apology that those who walked out should avoid taking similar actions when it came to the Voice.
“I know that some people who boycotted that historic day in 2008 have since expressed their regret,” she said.
“They now admit that it was a mistake.
“And I say to those people — don’t make the same mistake again.”
Ms Burney said the apology was not just an acknowledgement of past government errors, but also a promise to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
“The apology was an acknowledgement that over decades, governments of different persuasions failed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” she said.
“It was also a commitment to do better in the future.
“We still haven’t fulfilled that commitment to do better.”
The speech follows a challenging week for the federal government, which was forced to bow to opposition pressure for pamphlets making cases both for and against the Voice to Parliament.
The Liberal Party is also yet to decide whether it will throw its support behind the Voice in a referendum, arguing the federal government has not released enough detail.
But Ms Burney urged those listening to back the Voice to Parliament.
“Later this year there will be a referendum on constitutional recognition through Voice and it is my deepest wish that Australians vote Yes. Yes to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. And ‘yes’ to a better future for all Australians.”