Historical forced adoptions - apologies

Apologies from governments and organisations play a vital role in recognising and acknowledging their involvement in forced adoption policies and practices, which caused enduring harm and trauma to mothers, fathers, adopted people, and their families. Apologies are an important step towards acknowledging our history and supporting healing. Their impact is deepened when accompanied by meaningful action.

Western Australian Government Apology

On 19 October 2010, the Western Australian Parliament was the first in Australia to apologise for the harmful policies and practices of historical forced adoption. The apology came as a result of strong advocacy and campaigning by individuals, support groups and organisations. 

Then Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett made  the apology in Parliament on behalf of the Western Australian Government to people affected by forced adoption. 

Other Members of Parliament contributed statements recognising the enduring grief and trauma of forced adoption policies and practices, with some Members sharing personal experiences of forced adoption.

Read the WA Government Apology and Member Statements: Removal of Children from Unmarried Mothers - Apology.

Transcript of the Western Australian Government Apology

MR C.J. Barnett (Cottesloe - Premier) [3.04 pm]: I move -

That this house notes -

1. that with regard to past adoption practices, it is now recognised that from the 1940s to the 1980s the legal, health, and welfare system then operating in Western Australia, in many instances, did not strike the correct balance between the goal of minimising the emotional and mental impact of the adoption process on unmarried mothers, with the goal of achieving what was considered at the time to be in the best interests of the child;
2. that processes such as the immediate removal of the baby following birth, preventing bonding with the mother, were thought at the time to be in the mother’s and the child’s best interest;
3. that this house recognises that in some cases such practices have caused long-term anguish and suffering for the people affected; and
4. that the Parliament acknowledges that previous Parliaments and governments were directly responsible for the application of some of the processes that impacted upon unmarried mothers of adopted children, and now apologises to the mothers, their children and the families who were adversely affected by these past adoption practices, and I express my sympathy to those individuals whose interests were not best served by the policy of those times.

Mr Speaker, past practices were very firmly focused on the goal of ensuring that the children of unmarried mothers were provided with the best life opportunities that were available, and the prevailing view of the time was that these life opportunities resided exclusively with caring, married adoptive parents. Options for unmarried motherhood were extremely limited, resulting in incidents where unmarried women gave up their babies for adoption without there having necessarily been proper thought and attention applied to their own wellbeing. There has been significant change in both law and policy since that time, designed to strike a better and more considered balance of the interests and rights of both children and parents. 

On behalf of the state government, and to the extent that previous governments were directly responsible for the application of the processes that impacted upon unmarried mothers of adopted children, I now apologise to the mothers, their children and families who were adversely affected by these past adoption practices, and express my sympathy to those individuals whose interests were not best served by the policy of those times. 

Mr Speaker, a large number of the mothers are here today, and I thank them for coming to this Parliament for this apology. I very much hope that today’s apology will bring you some comfort and ease the years of pain, and even a sense of guilt that many of you have so unfairly felt for so many years. 

In closing, I thank the Minister for Health and other members of Parliament, including the member for Mandurah, for bringing us to this day and to this apology.

Australian Government Apology

On 21 March 2013, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard apologised on behalf of the Australian Government to people affected by forced adoption policies and practices.

Read the National Apology for Forced Adoptions.

Transcript of the National Apology for Forced Adoptions

1. Today, this Parliament, on behalf of the Australian people, takes responsibility and apologises for the policies and practices that forced the separation of mothers from their babies, which created a lifelong legacy of pain and suffering.
2. We acknowledge the profound effects of these policies and practices on fathers.
3. And we recognise the hurt these actions caused to brothers and sisters, grandparents, partners and extended family members.
4. We deplore the shameful practices that denied you, the mothers, your fundamental rights and responsibilities to love and care for your children. You were not legally or socially acknowledged as their mothers. And you were yourselves deprived of care and support.
5. To you, the mothers who were betrayed by a system that gave you no choice and subjected you to manipulation, mistreatment and malpractice, we apologise.
6. We say sorry to you, the mothers who were denied knowledge of your rights, which meant you could not provide informed consent. You were given false assurances. You were forced to endure the coercion and brutality of practices that were unethical, dishonest and in many cases illegal.
7. We know you have suffered enduring effects from these practices forced upon you by others. For the loss, the grief, the disempowerment, the stigmatisation and the guilt, we say sorry.
8. To each of you who were adopted or removed, who were led to believe your mother had rejected you and who were denied the opportunity to grow up with your family and community of origin and to connect with your culture, we say sorry.
9. We apologise to the sons and daughters who grew up not knowing how much you were wanted and loved.
10. We acknowledge that many of you still experience a constant struggle with identity, uncertainty and loss, and feel a persistent tension between loyalty to one family and yearning for another.
11. To you, the fathers, who were excluded from the lives of your children and deprived of the dignity of recognition on your children’s birth records, we say sorry. We acknowledge your loss and grief.
12. We recognise that the consequences of forced adoption practices continue to resonate through many, many lives. To you, the siblings, grandparents, partners and other family members who have shared in the pain and suffering of your loved ones or who were unable to share their lives, we say sorry.
13. Many are still grieving. Some families will be lost to one another forever. To those of you who face the difficulties of reconnecting with family and establishing ongoing relationships, we say sorry.
14. We offer this apology in the hope that it will assist your healing and in order to shine a light on a dark period of our nation’s history.
15. To those who have fought for the truth to be heard, we hear you now. We acknowledge that many of you have suffered in silence for far too long.
16. We are saddened that many others are no longer here to share this moment.  In particular, we remember those affected by these practices who took their own lives. Our profound sympathies go to their families.
17. To redress the shameful mistakes of the past, we are committed to ensuring that all those affected get the help they need, including access to specialist counselling services and support, the ability to find the truth in freely available records and assistance in reconnecting with lost family.
18. We resolve, as a nation, to do all in our power to make sure these practices are never repeated. In facing future challenges, we will remember the lessons of family separation. Our focus will be on protecting the fundamental rights of children and on the importance of the child’s right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
19. With profound sadness and remorse, we offer you all our unreserved apology.

Responsible Organisation Apologies

The harmful impacts of forced adoption policies and practices have been acknowledged and recognised by a number of organisations that were directly involved in historical forced adoptions in Western Australia.

• Ngala Apology
• The Salvation Army Apology
• King Edward Memorial Hospital Apology
• Catholic Church Apology