National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week Message 2020
Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Government House Sydney
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC
Today is the 22nd Anniversary of National Sorry Day, which followed one year after the tabling of the landmark ‘Bringing Them Home’ report in the Parliament of Australia.
On this day, a day of remembrance of the Stolen Generations, we remember the history of forcible removals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the tragic and ongoing impact this had upon many Indigenous families in our community. On behalf of the people of New South Wales, I pay my respects to those for whom this day represents deep sadness.
National Sorry Day also launches Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June), the start and end date of which reflects two significant events in our history – the 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision, Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). We also mark the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk for Reconciliation on 28 May.
This year’s Reconciliation Week theme: ‘In This Together’ acknowledges the importance of recognising our past and of working towards a shared future, based on reconciliation and deep mutual respect and understanding.