Today the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell, will add her voice to the historic apology to First Nations People in Victorian Parliament. The Premier will deliver the apology on behalf of the Government. Speeches will commence from 11am today.
The apology recognises the truth: colonisation in Victoria was brutal, deliberate and devastating - bringing dispossession, violence, genocide, and cultural erasure.
Governments of the past enacted policies that stole children, restricted freedoms, destroyed culture, and denied First Peoples land, rights and wealth.
The impacts of these decisions are not ancient history - they shape health, justice, education and life outcomes for First Nations people today.
But the Greens warn, apologising is about not repeating the mistakes of the past and committing to a future where everyone is given the right and opportunity to and thrive.
The Greens Leader says this apology comes at a difficult time for many First Nations people as Jacinta Allan's Labor government rammed through sentencing laws that will punish First Nations kids for Labor's failures.
We've seen this already with Labor's punitive bail laws resulting in an overrepresentation of First Nations women in Victorian prisons.
As stated by Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell.
"It's a privilege today to represent the Greens and apologise to First Nations People for the injustice and harm this state has caused since colonisation.
"Sorry means you don't do it again. Apologising is about not repeating the mistakes of the past, and committing to a better future.
"Over the past month, Jacinta Allan's Labor Government has rammed through ineffective policies that everyone knows will disproportionately affect First Nations children.
"I fear that the Parliament will be back here in 10 years to apologise again for introducing policies that destroyed First Nations people's lives."
