When the Federal Parliament made history on 13 February by offering a formal apology to members of the Stolen Generation, it marked an important step in a journey of healing for one CPSU member.
Andrew Davis is a member of the Stolen Generation and in the Autumn's edition of the CPSU journal The Works he tells us what it was like in Canberra the day Australia finally said sorry. The magazine also reports on a CPSU call for more government action to boost the numbers of indigenous employees in the public service.
Making History
CPSU member Andrew Davis, who is a member of the Stolen Generations, was in Canberra on the day Kevin Rudd made the historic apology in parliament.
“I was in Canberra for work anyway, but the meeting time was changed so I could attend Parliament House to hear the speech. Talk about fate! I’ve waited years for those words to be uttered, and I actually got to be there when they were, to witness this historic occasion.
“The atmosphere was amazing to say the least, and the crowd received the PM’s address with much positive enthusiasm. I can’t say the same about the leader of the opposition’s speech though.
“Finally; a PM who has the intestinal fortitude to say sorry. One person said to me in Canberra ‘This is the biggest thing since man landed on the moon’. Well it’s certainly helped me along my journey of healing.
“There were a huge number of non-Indigenous people there to hear the speech, which was great to see,” said Andrew.
As well as being a Senior Programme Officer with DEEWR in Adelaide, Andrew is a proud Aboriginal man of Barngarla/Ngarrindjeri descent.
He plays guitar in the Nunga reggae band Kineman Karma. In his spare time he writes and records songs to convey messages of reconciliation, and to protest against injustice towards Aboriginal Australians.
“I like to drop tracks down at home. One of my songs, Stolen, has special meaning to me, as I was forcibly removed from my family at a very young age. I am one of the fortunate ones that re-kindled the links with my family. Many others aren’t as fortunate” he said.
A great, heartwarming story. Good on you Andrew.