When Trish Jackson told her mother, aged 96, about the apology, her eyes lit up. Her first response was, "wow, that’s awesome".
"Then she went into this trance and looked far away, and said: 'I still don’t know how they got away with what they did to us'," Jackson said.
"She lives with so much guilt, and it’s so hard to watch. It wasn’t her fault."
Jackson, 61, is a survivor ofthat caused birth defects in thousands of babies worldwide.
She was among those in Canberra on Wednesday to hear Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deliver an "unreserved and overdue" apology to all Australians impacted by the thalidomide tragedy.
"To the survivors: we apologise for the pain thalidomide has inflicted on each and every one of you, each and every day," Albanese told parliament on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers a national apology to all Australians impacted by the thalidomide tragedy at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"These parents, these mothers did nothing wrong. These parents did not fail their children. The system failed them both."
Speaking to SBS News ahead of the apology, Jackson said for some, it was "60 years too late".
‘We live in constant pain’
Before she was born, Jackson’s mother unknowingly took a tablet containing thalidomide - the active ingredient in a sleep-inducing and sedative drug marketed internationally to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a treatment for morning sickness.
It was later found to cause malformation of limbs, facial features and internal organs in unborn children. An estimated 10,000 babies were born around the world with such defects.
Australian obstetrician Dr William McBride was credited to be among the first doctors to alert the world to the dangers of thalidomide when he wrote to the Lancet medical journal after noticing an increase in defects in babies delivered from women who had taken the drug.
He was later found guilty of scientific fraud by a medical tribunal for his research into another drug and struck off the NSW medical register, but went on to win the right to practice again.
Thalidomide caused serious damage to Jackson’s body. She was born with limb differences, which she describes as little arms and three fingers on each hand, along with internal damage to her heart and lungs, which resulted in several surgeries.
Jackson, from Brisbane, didn’t walk until she was seven. She had major heart surgery when she was 11.
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Timeline: history of thalidomide
Since then, life has been a constant battle - from navigating her childhood and school, to fighting to work and receive financial assistance.
"Even everyday things, like going to the shops - I get laughed at, I get stared at," she said.
"It’s been very different growing up - and we didn’t have any support back in those days. We didn’t have anyone to talk to."
"There was a time where I had never left my house for six months because I didn’t want to put up with people’s rude comments. It takes its toll."
Jackson describes thalidomide as "the drug that keeps on giving".
"As we get older, more things happen to our bodies. There was always a lot of internal damage that wasn’t recognised when we were babies - digestion problems, a lot of nerve pain," she said.
"We live in constant pain … it puts a lot of strain on your body, and our bodies are tired."
‘All my life I’ve fallen through the cracks’
Jackson was recognised as a thalidomide survivor in the 1970s. For her friend and fellow survivor, Ken Griffits, 60, this only happened last year.
Griffits was born seven months after his mother took thalidomide. His twin sister was stillborn. His mother had previously lost twins. She had taken thalidomide during their pregnancy.
"I was supposed to die," Griffits said.
As a result of the drug, he says "everything just isn’t how it should be."
Griffits, who grew up in Sydney and now lives in Brisbane, has had multiple surgeries on his back, for example, plates inserted onto his spine and discs replaced in his neck.
"All my life, I’ve fallen through the cracks, like Trish has. Now we are paying for that physically."
Ken Griffits was recognised as a thalidomide survivor last year. Source: Supplied / Trish Jackson
‘Australian governments did not immediately react,’ says Senate report
Thalidomide was distributed for sale in Australia between August 1960 and November 1961, according into support for thalidomide survivors.
It was developed and manufactured by a German pharmaceutical company known as Grünenthal.
Grünenthal licensed thalidomide for sale globally, including to the distributor of the drug in Australia, Distillers Company, now known as Diageo.
The report states Grünenthal has been subject to significant and ongoing criticism for its role in the disaster since"the "damaging effects" of thalidomide became known. The , more than a half-century after pulling the drug off the market.
It has provided some assistance in countries where it directly marketed thalidomide, in particular, Germany. According to the 2019 report, support group Thalidomide Group Australia submitted that Grünenthal had not recognised or paid compensation to any Australian thalidomide survivor.
The report said that Diageo "has acted constructively to provide financial assistance to thalidomide survivors both in Australia and in the United Kingdom, though it had no legal obligation to do so".
The committee said that Australian governments "have a moral obligation" to the country’s thalidomide survivors, noting both the federal and state governments "failed to monitor drug safety at a time when other governments around the world did so".
‘When it was revealed that thalidomide was toxic, Australian governments did not immediately react," it said.
In November 1961 when thalidomide was linked to birth defects, neither state governments nor the Australian government took swift action to ban its importation or sale.
Unlike other countries, no efforts were made to recall and destroy the product that was in doctors' clinics or pharmacies.
The inquiry found that had the government acted more quickly, about 20 per cent of Australia's thalidomide survivors may not have been affected.
Australia declared thalidomide a prohibited import in August 1962. Griffits claims the drug was prescribed to his mother around six months after, saying the government "failed in due diligence to follow up".
It took him 58 years to be recognised as a thalidomide survivor by a government-appointed assessor.
Thalidomide survivors Trish Jackson and Ken Griffits have travelled to Canberra for the apology. Source: Supplied / Trish Jackson
McManus has long been advocating for Australian survivors, and received a Medal in the Order of Australia last year.
'Too often, we have let you down,' Albanese says
Jackson and Griffits travelled to Canberra to hear the government formally apologise to all those affected by what was "one of the darkest chapters in Australia’s medical history".
Albanese said survivors of thalidomide had been let down over the decades by successive federal governments.
"We are sorry for the harm and the hurt and the hardship you have endured. We are sorry for all the cruelty you have had to bear. We are sorry for all the opportunities you have been denied," he said.
"You have been survivors from the day you were born. More than that, you have been advocates, organisers, champions and warriors.
"Time and again, you have summoned remarkable resolve, you have shown an extraordinary strength of character. Yet for so long parliaments and governments have not proved equal to this or worthy of it. Too often, we have let you down."
Albanese delivers a national apology to all Australians impacted by the thalidomide tragedy in Canberra. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Both a national apology and memorial site were key recommendations of the 2019 Senate inquiry.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also delivered an apology to those Australians impacted by the thalidomide tragedy. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
"We make this national apology as an expression of a historical dereliction of duty, an affirmation of a recognition of responsibility, as a proclamation of a profound sense of regret," he said.
A minute's silence was also held in the House of Representatives in memory of the victims of thalidomide.
Government reopens support program for survivors
Albanese used the apology to announce the government would reopen eligibility for a support program for survivors.
In 2020, the then-Liberal government developed a "lifetime" financial support package for survivors in response to 11 of the inquiry recommendations.
The Australian Thalidomide Survivors Support Program is available to all recognised thalidomide survivors to help with out-of-pocket healthcare costs and daily living expenses.
The 2020-21 federal budget allocated $44.9 million over forward estimates to the program. It provided a one-off lump sum payment of up to $500,000 in 2020-21, scaled according to a person's disability, ongoing scaled annual payments and extra payments for healthcare support worth $14.1 million.
A woman impacted by the thalidomide tragedy holds a picture as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers a national apology in Canberra. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Speaking ahead of the announcement, Jackson had said while "it’s "wonderful" the government has "stepped up" to offer support, it can be difficult and time-consuming to access.
"It’s great that it’s there, but they need to make it easier so that everyone can access it," she said.
According to the Department of Health, there are 146 thalidomide survivors registered with the Australian Thalidomide Survivors Support Program. However, it says the exact number of those affected is unknown.
Jackson and Griffits believe the number could be much higher.
‘It’s too late for them’
Jackson has learned to put on a brave face - but she is tired.
"If I didn’t, you would just cry. You would spend all day in a room and you wouldn’t leave it. But it’s getting hard to put on that brave face. There’s a lot of pain on the inside," she said.
She said the apology won’t make a difference to her everyday life.
"I’ll still have little arms, I will still struggle with everyday things, and live in constant pain. I will still get laughed at, stared at, made fun of," she said.
"But it just proves that the government wronged us, and didn’t protect Australian citizens.
"It was a catastrophe, and it’s still a catastrophe, and we’re still fighting for justice."
Thalidomide survivor Trish Jackson says for some, the apology comes years too late. Source: Supplied / Trish Jackson
Griffits said he’s disappointed there needs to be an apology.
"This should never have happened to Trish, to us, to anyone," he said.
For Jackson, the memorial is also important in remembering "those that never made it to our age".
"The apology is 60 years too late. Most parents aren’t here anymore to hear it, and they should have heard it."
Jackson's parents, both aged 96, were unable to make the trip to Canberra.
"It’s too late for them."
With additional reporting by AAP
