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Those languages, she said, held truths about our land that may now never be fully understood.
“To ensure that the wrongs of the past are never repeated, we say sorry,” Allan told those who had come to bear witness to the moment.
Premier Jacinta Allan (left) and Treaty Minister Natalie Hutchins embrace after the apology.Credit: Justin McManus
“We offer this apology with open minds, open eyes and open hearts. We know that words alone are not enough.
“If this apology is to carry more than words and the intention of members today, then we must certify through what we do next that treaty is not merely a gesture.
“It is a pathway to healing and change. It is how we begin to right the wrongs that apology alone cannot mend.”
After Allan had spoken, she turned around to comfort Watt, who was placed in the seats behind her and wiping away tears. At one point, Treaty Minister Natalie Hutchins reached out to Watt to briefly hold her hand in a show of support.
Watts shoots back at the opposition during the vote. Credit: Justin McManus
Emotions were running high by the time Opposition Leader Jess Wilson rose to tell the parliament why the Coalition would not support the apology the premier had just read.
She said the Coalition would work towards better outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians, but disagreed with treaty as the policy to achieve this change.
Treaty was integral to Allan’s speech and, for this reason, the opposition chose to vote against the apology.
In the public gallery, attendees looked dispirited but refrained from calling out as Wilson put her case.
Labor MPs felt no such restraint and yelled “shame” not long after as the Coalition forced each vote to be counted, rather than allowing the motion to pass without interruption.
Attendees celebrate the passing of the apology motion in parliament. Credit: Justin McManus
Frustrated, Watt pointed across the chamber and voiced her disapproval to Coalition MPs during the vote.
Words alone may not be enough, as Allan had said. But for those in the gallery who witnessed the apology, they meant a great deal.
They were significant for Aunty Jill Gallagher, who said her 99-year-old mother was born into a country that didn’t recognise her as a citizen and removed six of her 10 children from her custody.
“For her to hear the apology, that’s what keeps me going,” Gallagher said.
“For her to hear that the government had finally acknowledged what happened to her and her people. We can start healing.”
Words escaped Travis Lovett, one of the commissioners of the state’s Yoorrook truth-telling inquiry, as he sought to describe the feeling that came with a premier acknowledging centuries of injustices.
“To recognise and legitimise our people’s lived experience, is just quite emotional,” he said.
First Peoples’ Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said it felt like a weight had been lifted to hear the experiences of Aboriginal Victorians reflected in speeches in the halls of parliament.
Allan (centre) at the smoking ceremony outside Parliament House before the apology.Credit: Justin McManus
Members of the public and representatives from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria wept as the premier chronicled the decisions made by governments past that had profoundly impacted their lives, apologising for the hurt they had caused.
Once the motion was passed, Labor, Green and independent MPs rose and applauded the First Peoples’ Assembly members in the crowd.
Those members hugged, cried and cheered from the public gallery as they celebrated what they hope will be a reset for the relationship between Aboriginal Victorians and the institutions that have let them down in the past.
As he led a smoking ceremony on the front steps of parliament on Tuesday, Uncle Andrew Gardiner acknowledged how far Victoria had come.
He thanked Labor leaders dating back to Gough Whitlam for advancing the cause of Indigenous rights, and also acknowledged Coalition MPs like Wilson and Nationals leader Danny O’Brien who, despite their differences of opinion, had joined him to partake in the ceremony.
Although they don’t support treaty now, they might one day in the future, Gardiner said.
“At least you’re out here,” he said.
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