‘The stolen generations apology anniversary should stand as a day of shame‘, Guardian Australia, 13 February 2018
The difficulty and reluctance in recognising the way this intergenerational trauma impacts upon the lives of First Nations people says a lot about white Australia and what it considers acceptable from its governments. What none of us should accept is the national apology becoming a red-letter day for the assuagement of white guilt, particularly as the Turnbull government attempts to abandon targets on addressing Indigenous disadvantage under the guise of a “Closing the Gap refresh”.
There were big historical acknowledgements and even bigger promises for the future made on 13 February 2008. First Nations people and our allies continue to hold the so-called commonwealth accountable to them.
Links to some other relevant material from Guardian Australia, including a piece by Richard Weston with the telling title, ‘The gap won’t close until we address intergenerational trauma’.