00:00There's been mixed emotions from stolen generation survivors as to what the national apology
00:08means to them.
00:09Now, we're marking 17 years since former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised on behalf of
00:15the nation for harmful and discriminatory policies that tore Aboriginal children from
00:20their parents, some returning home never to see them again.
00:24One of those people was Aunty Leonie Ebbsworth, who was taken at the tender age of two years
00:29old and sent 600 kilometres away to Kootamundra Girls' Home, where she remained in the institution
00:35until 16 years old.
00:38Now when she returned home to Bourke, she found out that her mother had passed away.
00:43Now many survivors are reflecting on the anniversary today and some are saying that they're starting
00:48to lose hope.
00:49Uncle Michael Whitty Welsh, who is a survivor of the Kinchella Boys' Home, remembers the
00:55apology and the landmark inquiry that investigated the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres
01:01Strait Islander children and said he had a lot of hope at that moment, but as he starts
01:06to age, he said he's slowly starting to lose that hope.
01:09And we know from reports that stolen generation survivors are dying at a rapid rate, so they're
01:14really calling on the government to help them rebuild their family structures and help them
01:19and their families to heal.
01:21Now the Prime Minister spoke in the Great Hall in Parliament House behind me and he
01:25addressed a crowd of around more than 400 people.
01:29There were survivors, politicians, advocates and corporates that have really come together
01:35to reflect on what this day means.
01:38And he opened up the event by saying that it's the greatest honour to attend the National
01:46Apology as the Prime Minister over the last couple of years.
01:49And he also marked another significant anniversary that happened this week, which was the 60th
01:55anniversary of the Freedom Rides led by Charles Perkins.
01:59And that was a tour around regional New South Wales that really tried to highlight the racism
02:05and segregation that First Nations people were experiencing at the time.
02:10And he likened the pushback and the opposition that the Freedom Riders faced to the pushback
02:15and the opposition that Kevin Rudd faced when he put forward the idea to apologise to stolen
02:21generation survivors, but said it was a really big turning moment in Australia's history
02:27and unified the nation.
02:29Let's take a quick listen to what he had to say.
02:31It was Kevin Rudd who had the courage and the conviction to utter the words that we
02:42were told for so many years beforehand would be divisive.
02:50At that moment, the nation said sorry.
02:56So while it's offered healing for some, many are looking for practical change within their lifetime.
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