(An email sent to all staff from Glyn Davis the Vice Chancellor of my old university in Melbourne)
Colleagues,
Tomorrow, 13 February, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will make a formal
Apology to the Stolen Generations. The University is recognising
this important national event with a University statement of apology
to the Indigenous people of Australia.
The statement is below.
The Prime Minister’s Apology to the Stolen Generations will be
telecast from 8.55 am tomorrow and I would encourage staff and
students of the University to view this momentous event.
STATEMENT OF APOLOGY
To the Indigenous people of Australia
>From the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne, established on the traditional land of
the Kulin nation, is a community that aspires to participate in the
creation of a diverse and harmonious nation. Our aim is to bring
greater benefits to the Indigenous people of Australia through
education and research, and to do so by involving Indigenous people
in those endeavours. On behalf of the University of Melbourne, I
acknowledge,
* The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original
inhabitants of the continent;
* Recognise their loss of land, children, health and kin, and the
erosion of their languages, culture and lore and the manifold
impacts of colonisation; and
* Australia will only become a mature nation when the past is
acknowledged, so that the present can be understood and the future
confidently based on the mutual recognition of aspirations and
rights.
The University records its deep regrets for the injustices suffered
by the Indigenous people of Australia as a result of European
settlement.
On behalf of the University of Melbourne, I join with other
Australians, led by the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Kevin
Rudd, to say a heartfelt ‘sorry’ to the Stolen Generations and their
families and to all Indigenous Australians who have suffered the
hurt and harm caused by the forced removal of children and families
and its effect on the human dignity and spirit of Indigenous
Australians.
The University also acknowledges and sincerely regrets any past
wrongs carried out in the name of the University which have caused
distress to Indigenous Australians.
The University is committed to using the expertise and resources of
its teaching and learning, research and knowledge transfer
activities to make a sustained contribution to lifting the health,
education and living standards of Indigenous Australians. As an
institution we aim to produce the highest quality outcomes in all
aspects of our academic endeavour – from the recruitment and
retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to
building our cohort of Indigenous academic and professional staff.
To this end we hope to contribute to realising Indigenous
aspirations and safe-guarding the ancient and rich Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage.
The University joins with all Australians who see in Parliament’s
recognition and apology a decisive moment in our nation’s progress.
In justice is the hope of reconciliation, in acknowledging the past
the hope of the future.
Glyn Davis
Vice-Chancellor.
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