"On behalf of staff, past and present, of the Royal Women’s Hospital I say sorry for the suffering and hurt of the Stolen Generations, their descendants and the families left behind.
I make this apology to Aboriginal women and their children, their husbands, their partners, cousins, aunties and uncles, who suffered as a result of the policies and practices conducted at this hospital.
I apologise for the actions, which caused needless anguish, guilt and confusion and has left a legacy of anger and pain, as well as distrust of the hospital. There is no more fitting time, as we leave the site where these practices occurred, to acknowledge that whatever the intention of staff, the severing of that most deepest of bonds, between a mother and her baby, has had cruel and lasting consequences for Aboriginal women and their families.
I hope that this apology can be accepted by the Aboriginal community, that an honest reckoning can become the basis of a new relationship between the Women’s and our Aboriginal community, which builds trust, confidence, health and wellbeing."
—Dale Fisher, the Women’s Chief Executive, 26 May 2008