CHIEF Minister Katy Gallagher delivered an emotional apology to people affected by past forced-adoption practices this morning at the Legislative Assembly.

The apology is an acknowledgement by the Assembly that the former forced adoption practices which occurred in Australia between the late 1940s and the 1980s have significantly affected people in the ACT, and follows the release of the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee’s report that recommended the Commonwealth Government, as well as each jurisdiction, issue a formal statement of apology to those who were forcibly separated.

Ms Gallagher expressed her “sorrow” at the forced adoption practices, offering her “heartfelt apology to ACT families, past and present, separated by an adoption that was forced upon them.”

“Mothers were made to give up their babies in an atmosphere of silence and shame…with the view back then that unmarried mothers could not take care of their babies,” she said.

“These mothers were often young, powerless and emotionally vulnerable. We acknowledge the lifelong impact these policies had.”

Ms Gallagher admitted that no apology can “heal the pain and trauma of forced adoption.”

“It is understandable that those affected would be sceptical of the value of an apology such as this one,” she said.

“The report of the senate inquiry makes for painful reading. Some women told of being sedated during childbirth, or having pillows or blankets arranged so they wouldn’t catch sight of their babies. Women were told untruthfully that their babies were dead.

“These are tales of bullying and emotional blackmail, even physical violence against women who resisted having their babies taken. There has been a conspiracy of silence, a legacy of denial.”

Ms Gallagher’s sentiments were mirrored by Opposition Leader Zed Seselja, who said “as a father, a son, a brother, an uncle…it is unthinkable that these practices were carried out and these rights and opportunities were denied to people for so many years.”

Ms Gallagher said it was “impossible to tell” how many people were affected by the forced adoptions from the senate report but that it would “have to be in the tens of thousands.”