Why I was the first to stand and turn my back on Brendan Nelson in the Great Hall
By Chris Osborne
USU Member
Apr 9, 2008
On Wednesday 13th February, former USU Executive Member, Mr Chris Osborne, travelled to Canberra as an official representative of the USU, to witness the historic apology, given by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to the Stolen Generations.
“I felt compelled to go down and witness this momentous occasion and to say “sorry” to as many of our indigenous brothers and sisters as I could”, Mr Osborne said. “It was unbelievably moving and emotional experience, and one I will never forget for the rest of my life”.
Mr Osborne said that his sister-in-law’s father was born of mixed race and was taken from his mother in Kempsey at the age of 2.
“I felt a need to also represent my sister-in-law and her other 2 sisters as well”, he said
Mr Osborne stated that he was the first person to stand and turn his back in the Great Hall on Dr Brendan Nelson, Leader of the Opposition, about 10 minutes into his speech.
“He started off brilliantly, but after a few minutes he muffed it”, Mr Osborne said. Mr Osborne said that one of his colleagues stood up and walked out of the Great Hall and was followed by a few indigenous people.
“After a few more minutes of this nonsense I decided to stand up and turn my back on Dr Nelson who was on the large screens inside the Great Hall”.
Mr Osborne said that 3 indigenous sisters he had talked to earlier also stood up.
“There was this spontaneous reaction by the people in the Great Hall, and one by one they stood and turned their backs, and someone then started a slow clap to drown Dr Nelson out”, Mr Osborne said.
After the event, when Mr Osborne went into the foyer, many people came up to him to shake his hand and congratulate him for his actions.
“I had dozens of people come up to me over the course of the rest of the day, both indigenous and non-indigenous, to shake my hand and thank me for initiating the gesture”, he said.
USU Congratulates PM on Apology
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