Victoria's Police Commissioner has made a formal apology for the force's role in removing aboriginal children from their families and communities. Stolen generations survivors and their families gathered in Melbourne to hear the apology.
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00:00 This has been a historic occasion here in Melbourne today.
00:04 For 27 years the Aboriginal community in Victoria has been calling for an apology from Victoria
00:09 Police for their involvement in the stolen generation, removing children from Aboriginal
00:13 people.
00:14 About 100,000 children were removed in the last century from Victorian Aboriginal families
00:19 and that hurt has caused hurt for generations.
00:21 Victoria Police today have made that formal apology and it's taken so long because the
00:26 community wanted to know that this was a meaningful apology.
00:29 Here's the Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patten.
00:32 While we cannot change history, we can accept the harsh truth of it and learn from it.
00:40 So these harms are never repeated.
00:44 I acknowledge that survivors of the stolen generations have called for an apology for
00:50 police involvement in the forced removal of Aboriginal children for more than 27 years.
00:59 This apology is long overdue.
01:04 As Chief Commissioner and on behalf of Victoria Police, I'm here with you today to formally
01:13 and unreservedly apologise to survivors of the stolen generations and their families
01:22 for the role of Victoria Police that we played in the forcible removal of Aboriginal children
01:30 from their families, culture and country.
01:36 I do today congratulate the Commissioner for his acceptance of all the recommendations
01:41 in relation to the police out of the York Commission and of your commitment and sincerity
01:47 throughout.
01:49 It has generally shown leadership.
01:52 But today will we hear from the Commissioner of the recognition of the police from the
01:57 harm that they personally caused.
02:00 Will the police commit to eliminate the scourge of racism both at an individual and institutional
02:06 level?
02:07 This was a highly emotional event for the people attending here.
02:09 There were many survivors of the stolen generation who shed tears.
02:12 I also hope that today could be a step forward towards reconciliation and trying to heal
02:17 some wounds.
02:18 I also acknowledge that the intergenerational trauma lasts many generations.
02:22 This will take a long time to fix.
02:25 They say this is a really important step forward in terms of healing and understanding what
02:30 Aboriginal people have been through in this state.
02:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]