Ahead of National Sorry Day, the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) unveiled the first apology plaque at its head office in Dubbo on May 24.
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00:00So that's the apology, this will sit inside as it will in all of our facilities, and on
00:06the wall over here, I guess we should unveil this one as well, I don't know if you wouldn't
00:11mind.
00:12That's the permanent plaque that will sit here, and as I say, in all of our hospitals
00:17as well, across the district, so that we never forget our apologies and our commitment to
00:22do things better moving forward.
00:27Today, on behalf of NSW Health, we say sorry to the survivors of the Stolen Generations.
00:36We extend this apology to the mothers, families and descendants of the Stolen Generations.
00:44We pay our respects to all Elders, past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the unrelenting
00:53resilience of Aboriginal people and their culture.
00:59I, we, are deeply sorry for the pain and suffering caused by taking children from their families,
01:07from their communities, from their land, and denying them their language and their cultural
01:14reference.
01:15I, we, are profoundly sorry for the institutions managed by NSW Health and its predecessor
01:23agencies played a role in the forced removal of Aboriginal children and their babies.
01:31NSW Health acknowledges that many Aboriginal children who were admitted to our hospitals
01:38did not return to siblings, their families and their communities.
01:44I, we, sincerely apologise for the impact of the role NSW Health had in the forced removal
01:53of Aboriginal children from our hospitals and institutions.
01:59We are committed to working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal people, communities and survivors
02:06of the Stolen Generations.
02:08What occurred has a very real and lasting legacy today.
02:13The anguish and trauma caused by past NSW Health policies has been passed down through
02:20generations.
02:23Nothing can give back what was taken away from these children or their families, but
02:29we can, and will, change the future.
02:34We are deeply sorry.