CHIEF MINISTER SEEKS REAFFIRMATION OF ACT APOLOGY

Chief Minister and Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jon Stanhope will this week ask his Legislative Assembly colleagues to show their support for the Federal Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations by reaffirming the Assembly apology first given in 1997.

He wants the motion to reaffirm the 1997 apology to be passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly this Thursday, the day after the planned national apology in the Federal Parliament.

Mr Stanhope said today the reaffirmation would be a gesture of support and solidarity with the Federal Parliament as well as a restatement by the ACT legislature of the importance of acknowledging practices that had perpetuated and entrenched the disadvantage and dislocation of so many Indigenous Australians. It would also be a reminder that the legacies of these practices were well and truly still being felt today.

ACT Government emergency services will meet this morning to discuss site management in and around the Parliamentary Triangle, in the event that large numbers of people converge on Canberra for the national apology.

“While estimates of the size of the likely influx vary widely, the ACT Government will have in place contingency plans in such areas as public health to security,” Mr Stanhope said. “And while the national apology is a Federal Government affair, I am sure the entire Canberra community is keen to give a warm welcome to those who want to join us in the national capital for such a historic occasion, and also anxious that the event runs smoothly. I am aware of a number of community-based organizations that are already marshalling support to provide billeting and other assistance and I thank them for their welcoming attitude.

ACT Government agencies met last week to canvass potential risks and demands. The Government has already acted to ensure that there will be additional toilet facilities near the Tent Embassy site, where many visitors may begin to congregate from early this week. It is also making preparations for the possible provision of water and other services. ACT Health is providing additional resources to Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services, which will have a presence in the Parliamentary Triangle, in anticipation of a demand for health and counselling services. Health facilities are on notice.

The ACT Government has identified a range of potential public health, traffic and service implications arising from the potential influx of people keen to be in Canberra for the historic apology, and has conveyed these to the appropriate federal agencies for their information and consideration.