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Mob 0412 114552 | SorryPARLIAMENTARY YEAR BEGINS IN CHURCH AND WITH AN HISTORIC APOLOGYWhilst not attracting as much attention as the Indigenous contribution to the opening of Parliament nevertheless the start of the new Federal parliamentary year was marked with an ecumenical church service hosted by the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship at St Christopher's Cathedral in Forrest (Canberra). The service was held to commemorate the opening of parliament. The Governor General, Prime Minister, and Leader of the Opposition all took part in the service. In a novel co-incidence 42 new MPs were present when the 42nd Parliament of Australia sat for the first time yesterday. Twelve of the new MPs are under the age of 40 and 11 are women. Reflecting the Labor election win, 32 of the new MPs are from the ALP. It promises to be a busy year, with Federal Parliament to sit for an extra 15 days in 2008 and 14 Fridays now on the schedule. This has meant the allocation of extra time to government business and private members' business. The highlight of the first full days sitting of the new Parliament is of course the giving of the historic apology by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the Stolen Generation. The full wording of the apology is given below: Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history. The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future. We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry. We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation. For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written. We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians. A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again. A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity. A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed. A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility. A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia." Let us pray that the apology is received by all in the spirit in which it is intended. Let us pray that it will result in our Aboriginal brothers and sisters being able to experience a sense of the closing of a dark chapter of their history, and the healing and release of past hurts and memories. Pray that the apology will release in our nation a fresh spirit of hope and the ability to now look to a future as one people and to work together towards the removal on any injustices, real or perceived, that still exist, until equality is not only spoken of, but also evident in the practical realities of everyday life. Source: Compiled by APN from reports from various sources
AN ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE APOLOGY(Editors note: Some of our readers have asked could we obtain a report from one of our Aboriginal leaders as to their perspective on the apology given by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd two weeks ago. Pastor Peter Walker a friend with whom we have shared the reconciliation journey over a number of years has penned the following article which we bring you so that you may obtain a better understanding of the impact the apology had on our indigenous people.) Changing History and Bringing about the Purposes of God In This Nation Over the past 2 weeks, we have seen prophecy being fulfilled and history being made in this nation. Standing at Parliament House and watching history being made whilst listening to the Prime Minister’s apology speech was something only God could have brought about. This was the results of prayer. I must say from the onset one would have to be naïve to think that everyone taken from their parents and placed in white foster homes didn’t appreciate and benefit from this exercise, not so! There are genuine cases of those who were taken still having good relationship with their foster parents, and would not be alive today if it weren’t for these placements. Hence the term, "stolen generation”, and the “rescued generation” I believe this was much broader then the stolen generation, this is about identity and recognition and apologizing for the past. The fact is we have to start somewhere and this happened. The mixture of tears and emotions was hard to contain. Something broke in me, as if there was a release from the past, and as I looked around almost every one was in tears, even hardened men were in tears of joy, and for the very first time in the history of this nation, an apology by a very brave and compassionate Prime Minister towards Australia’s First Nation’s people was given. Who would have thought it would be Kevin Rudd, I for one did not give him my vote in the elections, and he was the last one in line I would have thought possible. But then I am reminded as we study biblical history, God has used heathen and pagan kings to fulfil his purposes in disciplining, deliverance and restoration of Israel; e.g. Nebuchadnezzar, (Jeremiah 27:8) Cyrus the Persian king, (Isaiah 45:1-3; Ezra 1:1-11. I believe Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is a part of God’s plan for fulfilling the purposes of God in this nation. When he made the apology we saw parts of the prophecy of Amos 5:21-24b fulfilled, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.” Every where I looked whilst at Parliament House, and throughout this nation, rivers of tears were flooding down, throughout the nation, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people we’re able to find release through the Prime Minister’s apology, this was much broader then just the stolen generation Truly we are about to see reformation and transformation explode over this nation. People have asked about reconciliation and healing and compensation, I tell them this will begin when people come into fellowship with Jesus Christ. Friends I am amazed and astounded of God’s awesome plan for this nation and his plans are beginning to unfold. Early that morning as we were preparing to go to Parliament House the Lord spoke to me through His word. The passage of scripture that opened up to me was 1 Chronicles 15:1-13-; David instructs the Levites to prepare themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, and it was because of them not doing it right at first that God’s anger was aroused. Please listen to me I did not look for this scripture, I just had prayer and asked God for guidance, and this is the word that I opened on, and I believe He gave me this word. King David had prepared a dwelling place for the ark to be brought to Mount Zion in Jerusalem from Kiriath Jearim. The ark was placed there by Saul prior to David becoming King. Saul represented an old mindset, old mentalities. I believe Kevin Rudd is likened to King David in his role where God has established him as a new authority, with a new mindset, unafraid to meet the challenge. He has set things in motion and a platform and foundation for us to build upon. However, he is limited in his role as leader ‘king‘ of this nation. It is now time for the Levites us, the New Testament Priests, to formulate a plan and walk together in unity in bringing about the purposes of God in establishing righteousness and justice in this nation. This nation needs us to walk together in unity. We are in a new season, with a new mindset, and new mentalities. Source: by Aboriginal Pastor Peter Walker & APN
APOLOGY COMES AFTER 10 YEARS OF INTERCESSIONThe apology extended by the Federal Government to the Aboriginal people of Australia last week was another significant step towards healing some of the deep spiritual wounds that have been holding our nation back from moving into the fullness of its God given destiny.In 1998 a team of British Prayer and Church leaders contacted the Australian Prayer Network seeking our support and involvement in providing them with an avenue through which they could apologise to Australia, and in particular the Indigenous people of our nation, for the sins they believed their nation had committed in the early years of European settlement. These, amongst others, included the massacre of significant numbers of Aboriginal people and the rape of many of their women. Their request to be allowed to come and fulfil their mission coincided with the Lord speaking a prophetic word to our own nation regarding our need to receive their apology. The word received (which was around the time when the issue of whether we should become a republic was being discussed) was this: "Australia, you are a teenage nation about to move into adulthood, but I cannot allow you to enter your destiny as an adult nation until I have dealt with the wounds of your childhood." From that we understood why God wanted us to facilitate the British visit as part of His prophetic agenda for our nation. With the knowledge of the Queen and the then Governments of Britain and Australia, a team of around 40 British leaders visited Australia for a seven week period travelling the length and breadth of the nation repenting and apologising for actions taken by those representing their nation which had caused pain, distress and heartache for many affected by their actions. The Aboriginal people in particular were blessed by the sincerity they saw in the British action, including travelling to remote communities who suffered as a result of the atomic bomb testing program undertaken at Maralinga, to apologise to an Aboriginal elder who was blinded by that blast. At the conclusion of the tour the Australian Government received the team at an official reception at Parliament House. In the weeks following the visit, then Prime Minister John Howard, appointed a Minister for Reconciliation into his cabinet - a first for our nation. Another sign of the impact of the visit was that within months the great reconciliation marches in our major capital cities took place. The following year the Australian Prayer Network took a team of Aboriginal Leaders back to Britain to extend their forgiveness to the British people and a National Prayer Gathering was held at Uluru at which reconciliation between black and white leadership within the prayer movement in Australia was consummated. Since those events we have continued to pray that what was done in the spirit through those events would find expression at a Governmental level, and we believe the events of last Wednesday completed the chain of events initiated by the British visit. All that remains to be done now is for an apology by the British Government to be issued in due course. The apology given by the Prime Minister last week does not of course fix everything. The words having been spoken must now be followed by actions to overcome and correct the terrible indignity, pain, and suffering, of so many of our Indigenous people down through the generations since white settlement. The ongoing changes that must now occur will determine whether the apology given last week was mere words, or a genuine and sincere apology spoken in an attitude of repentance, which must carry through to our assisting as a nation in bringing a material change in the circumstances of our Aboriginal people. For now we rejoice at this further, very significant, answer to prayer, as we continue to pray that our nation will be able to take full and proper advantage of this opportunity to bring to completion this long running journey towards permanent reconciliation. Source: Australian Prayer Network
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