Rabbit-Proof Fence: Film Analysis

Australian film and parliamentary speeches have evidently portrayed Australia’s change of attitude towards Aborigines and the Stolen Generation. The film Rabbit Proof Fence portrays the profound injustices associated with the Stolen Generations, which serves to contrast that to current government policies. Paul Keating’s Redfern speech severely criticised Australia’s failure to provide justice to Indigenous communities, and used this as a basis for pursuing such justice through the government. Kevin Rudd, in a parliamentary speech in 2008, acknowledged the faults of past Australian governments for causing grief to Indigenous families during the Stolen Generations by providing a formal apology. Rudd’s apology formed the basis of building a respectful
Rudd communicated a national desire to “turn a new chapter” and right the wrongs of the past, and highlighted the significance of reconciliation in this process. In 1992, Keating emphasised the restoration of honesty and recognition delivered through the Mabo Judgement. In a protraction of that honesty and respect of Indigenous history, Kevin Rudd addressed past injustices, and apologised for the grief caused by “the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments” that enforced the legal removal of Indigenous Australian children from their families – the Stolen Generations. Rudd offered this apology in the spirit of “the healing of the nation” and moving on from a history of grief. Rudd encouraged society to “embrace a new partnership with Indigenous Australia”, and emphasised the need to “close the gap in life expectancy, educational achievement and employment opportunities”. In 2009, the Australian Government introduced a Healing Foundation to provide funds to address trauma and heal Indigenous communities, particularly those affected by the Stolen Generations. Kevin Rudd’s speech expressed a restoration dignity and respect towards Indigenous Australians, which later lead to practical change in