Dutton’s major admission on anniversary of apology to stolen generation

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has made a major concession on the 15th anniversary of a historic moment in Australian parliament.

Peter Dutton has said sorry for boycotting the Apology to the Stolen Generations on the 15-year anniversary of the historic event.

The Opposition Leader, who has since said his decision was a mistake, apologised for his actions on the floor of parliament on Monday.

“I failed to grasp at the time the symbolic significance to the Stolen Generation of the apology,” he said in the House of Representatives.

“I want to speak directly to those in the gallery today, and further afield, who are part of the Stolen Generation and those who are descendants or are connected to the issue,” he said.

“I want to say in an unscripted way – I apologise for my actions … I have apologised for that in the past and I repeat that apology again today.”

Mr Dutton was among a handful of MPs who spoke in parliament on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology.

Mr Rudd offered a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on behalf of the nation at Parliament House in Canberra, particularly to children who were forcibly removed from their families.

After taking over the federal Liberal leadership following the Coalition’s loss at last year’s federal election, Mr Dutton said he had been wrong not to support the apology.

Peter Dutton has apologised for boycotting the Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

He said on Monday his experience responding to domestic violence incidents affecting Indigenous women and children as a police officer in Queensland had been behind his decision.

“The judgment that I formed was that if we were to make an apology, it needed to be at a time when we had addressed and we had curbed that violence and those incidents,” he said.

The 15-year anniversary of the apology comes as the Commonwealth embarks on a historic push to hold a referendum that, if successful, would amend the constitution to embed an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The debate over the Voice has been heightened in recent weeks by an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence in Alice Springs, which has prompted the reintroduction of opt-out grog bans in Indigenous communities in Central Australia.

Mr Dutton is yet to reveal whether he will support Voice or if he will allow Liberals to have a conscience vote on it.

The federal Nationals have said they will oppose the proposed advisory body, which would provide parliaments of the day with advice on issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Every state and territory government has committed to the Voice and to supporting the referendum in a bipartisan way.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is proud to have been in parliament for the 2008 apology. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Anthony Albanese last week urged politicians to come together to support the Voice.

The Prime Minister promised before the election to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 2017 statement in which Indigenous leaders called for constitutional recognition and a treaty.

Mr Albanese said on Monday being in the House of Representatives for the 2008 apology was his “proudest moment in this chamber”.

“Delivering the apology took conviction, decency and humanity. It took courage to hear it,” he told parliament.

“Historically, governments of all persuasions have failed Aboriginal and Torres Strait people, yet those members of the Stolen Generations came here with such grace.

“I say to them, your courage showed us that when we are brave enough to acknowledge failure we can find the strength to take the next step forward together.”

Mr Albanese said one of the apology’s “great achievements” was to keep alive the hope for reconciliation that underpinned the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser told parliament too many politicians, public servants and journalists had become “observers” of Indigenous affairs, frozen by fear of causing offence and making bad situations worse.

He paid tribute to Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price and Labor Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, two Indigenous women from opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd joined the national apology anniversary breakfast at Parliament House, 15 years after the apology. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Gary Ramage

Mr Leeser said Senator Price and Ms Scrymgour “have not been afraid to speak the truth” about alcohol and violence in Indigenous communities and Australia’s failure to address these issues.

“So let us use this 15th anniversary of the National Apology to recommit ourselves to action, action in partnership with Indigenous communities, with the Coalition of Peaks, with state, territory and local governments and all people of goodwill,” he said.

“Let us all choose to be participants and not observers in the repair of our country and the reconciliation of our nation.”

The federal government has also committed $424m in additional funding for Closing the Gap initiatives to coincide with the apology’s 15-year anniversary.

The government has updated its strategy in an effort to deliver more practical outcomes for Indigenous Australians, saying the gap is not closing fast enough and on some measures it is going backwards.

The Productivity Commission’s Closing the Gap data from last year showed rates of suicide, incarceration, out-of-home care and children starting school on time continued to deteriorate.