A Day for the World to Say Sorry

From Australia’s National Sorry Day Toward an International Day of Truth, Repentance, and Repair

A PeaceGrooves Reflection

There are words so overused that they risk becoming weightless. Sorry is one of them. We say it when we bump into someone in a hallway, when we answer an email too late, when we make an insignificant mistake. Yet there are times when sorry is not small at all. There are wounds so deep, so deliberately inflicted, and so long denied that the speaking of sorrow becomes an act of public truth.

Australia’s National Sorry Day, observed each year on May 26, is such a day. It remembers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families, communities, languages, and cultures under government policies now associated with the Stolen Generations. The date marks the anniversary of the 1997 tabling of the Bringing Them Home report, the landmark national inquiry that gathered testimony from survivors and documented the devastation caused by these removals. The report called not only for recognition of what had happened, but for apology, healing, reparations, family reunion, access to records, and measures ensuring such violations would never recur.

National Sorry Day did not begin as a sentimental holiday….

Read the full essay at PeaceGrooves.

It is absolutely no coincidence that this decision is made public on National Sorry Day.

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Northern Territory police have confirmed they have declined to charge the two off-duty officers involved in an arrest over the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White, a Warlpiri man who lived with cognitive disabilities.

White died on 27 May last year during a confrontation with police in a Coles supermarket. His death sparked nationwide rallies and outrage, with calls for accountability and an independent probe.

The Northern Territory police commissioner, Martin Dole, said the Director of Public Prosecutions and territory police had conducted a fair and thorough investigation over the past 12 months.

“A brief of evidence was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for their opinion. Following consideration of all available evidence, including the independent expert report, the DPP formed the view that there was no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution,” Dole said.

The commissioner acknowledged the ongoing distress, anger and grief of White’s family and the Northern Territory Aboriginal community.

“While the decision not to proceed with charges was made based on the evidence and applicable legal thresholds, we recognise this outcome may be difficult for Kumanjayi White’s family – a man lost his life.”

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of White’s death.

#Aboriginal #Indigenous #Decolonise #SovereigntyNeverCeded #Treaty #FuckRacism #FuckWhiteness #FuckColonisation #AbolishPolice #AbolishPrisons #Abolition #FuckPolice #NTPol #SorryDay #NationalSorryDay

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/may/26/australia-politics-live-renewables-climate-bhp-files-budget-capital-gains-tax-jim-chalmers-anthony-albanese-question-time-senate-estimates-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6a1538268f08c1daf13f50ff#block-6a1538268f08c1daf13f50ff

Today, on National Sorry Day, I’m reflecting on my own journey of learning and solidarity. When I was 16, two fellow students at CRC Sydenham initiated a Sorry Book – a simple but profound gesture of acknowledgment for the immense harm caused by the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. I remember signing that book, feeling like I was part of something meaningful, a step towards reconciliation.

But as the years have passed, I came to understand that while that action was important, it wasn’t enough. A signature in a Sorry Book didn’t undo the pain, the trauma, or the ongoing injustices faced by Indigenous Australians. It was just the beginning of reconciliation.

Today, I recommit to continuing this journey. To listening. To learning. To amplifying the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To actively supporting justice, truth-telling, and meaningful change.
I stand with Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people – not just today, but every day.

To learn more about the Sorry Books, head to this link:
https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/sorry-books

#NationalSorryDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #Reconciliation

🚫no settler mens comments🚫

Sorry Day? How can the government claim to be sorry for the actions it continues to do?

When Kevin Rudd first apologised for the Stolen Generations back in 08, our child removal rates were bordering on those of the official Stolen Generations policies of the 1900s.

Every year since, our child removal rates have continued to rise.

During the height of the stolen generations, it is estimated that anywhere from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 Aboriginal children were taken. Today, 1 in 4 children come into contact with the system.

Many of these children aren't placed in the care of their extended family, or even their community.
Some of these children, in an act of continued assimilation practices, are even taken outside of this continent to be raised in places like Europe by white parents.

This kidnapping of our children by the colony must end. Our children aren't a commodity or novelty for settlers to acquire, they're our future and legacy, and they're real, living people who belong with their family on their country.

[from the BPU Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/19ZMyqCRBc/]

#Aboriginal #Indigenous #Decolonise #SovereigntyNeverCeded #Treaty #FuckRacism #FuckWhiteness #FuckColonisation #SorryDay #NationalSorryDay #Australia #AusPol #Youth

Fuck Sorry Day tbh.

They can get back to me when they're not still stealing our jarjum and killing us for parking fines.

#Aboriginal #Indigenous #Decolonise #SovereigntyNeverCeded #Treaty #FuckRacism #FuckWhiteness #FuckColonisation #SorryDay #NationalSorryDay

In May 2023, I joined a local group campaigning for an #Indigenous Voice to Parliament. We had high hopes. But as the Referendum result in October 2023 proved, in #Australia, while some things change, some stay the same. 🖤💛 💔 #NationalSorryDay

Link to blog post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/some-things-change-some-stay-the-same