Held annually on 26 May since 1998, National Sorry Day honours the resilience and self-determination of Aboriginal people who have been impacted by the forced removal of babies and children from their families.
This year, the Secretary, NSW Health, Susan Pearce, made a formal apology on behalf of the NSW Health system to survivors of the Stolen Generations and acknowledged the many Aboriginal children who were admitted to our hospitals and never returned to their families and communities.
While past government policies very much still impact the health and wellbeing of our Aboriginal families today, we hope that our Apology marks a significant milestone in our history and embraces truth-telling and the ongoing process of healing for our Aboriginal communities.
The full Apology on behalf of NSW Health can be read below.
Today, on behalf of NSW Health, we say sorry to you as Survivors of the Stolen Generations. We extend this apology to your mothers, your fathers, your families and your descendants. We pay our respects to all Elders, past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the unrelenting resilience of Aboriginal people and culture.
I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering caused by taking you from your families, from your communities, from your land and denying you language and cultural birthrights. I am profoundly sorry that the institutions managed by NSW Health and its predecessor agencies, played a role in your forced removal and that of other Aboriginal children and babies.
NSW Health acknowledges that many of you as Aboriginal children were admitted to our hospitals and did not return to your siblings, your families and your communities. I sincerely apologise for the impact of the role that NSW Health had in forcing your removal from our hospitals and institutions.
We are committed to working in genuine partnership with you as Survivors of the Stolen Generations, your descendants and other Aboriginal people and communities.
What occurred has a very real and lasting legacy today. The anguish and trauma caused by previous NSW Health policies has been passed through your generations.
Nothing can give back what was taken away from you or your families, but we can and will change the future.
We are deeply sorry.
Susan Pearce Secretary, NSW Health 26 May 2022
Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation Stolen Generations Council NSW/ACT
