A Moment of Dignity All Too Rare, by Phillip Coorey, Brisbane Times, November 16, 2009

A Moment of Dignity, All Too Rare

By Phillip Coorey
Brisbane Times
November 16, 2009

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/a-moment-of-dignity-all-too-rare-20091116-iibu.html

[with video]

All too infrequently, dignity descends on the Parliament. It did so yesterday as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull apologised to the forgotten Australians.

Peter Hicks shakes hands with Malcolm Turnbull.
Photo by Stefan Postles

Rudd was supposed to speak for 20 minutes but he went for twice that long.

Nobody minded. He wrote his own speech, doing the bulk of the work through the night on his way home from Singapore. Perhaps that explained the delivery. It was a little flat.

Rudd's speech was fashioned around the experiences of people he had encountered, including the twins Robyn and Judy whom he met last week in Bathurst. It was poignant, emotional and at times eloquent, but fell fell short of his apology last year to the Stolen Generations, his finest oration to date.

The difference between then and now was Malcolm Turnbull. The Stolen Generations apology will always be tarnished by the miserable offering of Brendan Nelson, who made a qualified apology and saw reason to mention ongoing graphic sexual abuse of Aboriginal children.

Boy with the suitcase ... Mr Hicks and Mr Turnbull.

When Turnbull spoke, nobody booed or turned their backs. Instead, people wept and one man - Peter Hicks, the boy with the suitcase - rushed the stage to hug Turnbull as he recounted the tragedy of Peter's childhood.

Turnbull drew on his own lingering sadness of not being raised by a mother as he told the story of a four-year-old Peter clutching his little suitcase containing a pair of socks, a pair of underpants, a pair of shorts and a shirt.

Turnbull reserved the line of the day for the end.

"For those of you who have suffered decades of grief, haunted by your childhood, emotionally paralysed and unable to move forward, today I hope you can take the first step forward because you are not to blame.

"It was governments, churches and charities that failed you and for this, we are truly sorry."

Rudd and Turnbull both held their heads high yesterday and the nation was better off for it.