Western Australian shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt has made a motion for a formal apology from the state government for the death of Roebourne teenager John Pat, in 1983.
Protesters and supporters rallied outside Parliament House today as the motion was unanimously passed.
The rally was the first of a series of protests aimed at ratifying recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
As protesters and supporters arrived for the rally, Mr Wyatt spoke about his intended motion for a formal apology.
“This motion is one I think will have bipartisan support. I want it to be respectful; acknowledging the memory of John Pat, acknowledging the fact John Pat's family still grieve and to bring attention to Australians the history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people; how we still see the impact of laws in society,” says Mr Wyatt.
Mr Pat's mother Mavis was one of the many guests who participated in the rally organised by the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee.
“I'd like to see justice be done, it’s been so long but nothing has been done. They’ve never done nothing, some people have come up to talk and see me in Roebourne, they’re trying to help but we never got any letters of nothing, no answers or no letters,” says Mavis.
During the rally, members were asked to witness Mr Wyatt's call for motion which was eventually passed unanimously.
"It’s not intended as a critique of the current government, it’s an intent of ‘let’s acknowledge it’s been 30 years since John Pat died in police custody.’ Now is a chance for the Parliament to pass a motion to apologise for that death, not to cast blame but really to apologise to the family of John Pat,” says Mr Wyatt.
A memorial stone in Roebourne is the next step to honouring Mr Pat's memory.
Similar rallies for other victims who died in Police custody will be staged across the country in the coming weeks.
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