This may not be of much interest to many here, but it's been a historic day in Australia today, and the first time in many, many years I, and many members of this nation, have felt proud to call ourselves Australian again.

Our new prime minister, Kevin Rudd (the gift that keeps on giving) formally - and FINALLY - in opening the formal beginning of parliament today in Canberra, apologised unreservedly, wholeheartedly, sincerely and genuinely to the stolen generations of indigenous Australians, for which he received a resounding standing ovation from everyone present - including the opposition party, which also endorsed and passed his apology motion.

In a moving 30-minute speech, Mr Rudd magnificently, eloquently and humbly said sorry - a total of six times - for the injustices of the past.

In my opinion, today is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, day in our nation's history. May the changes keep on coming.

The Story

The Apology

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins

I am a bit bemused really - as I though that Prime Minister paul John Keating gave the "redfern" statement in Dec 1992 where he acknowledged the wrong doing and said sorry.



But 2 sorries are better than 1 I suppose?

Paul Keating commissioned the `Bringing Them Home' report regarding the Stolen Generations, but the Redfern address was not specifically about the Stolen Generations, but was rather a general acknowledgement of the treatment of indigneous Australians throughout this country's history. This address was about the settlement of Australia far more than about the reason for yesterday's apology.

He also didn't say sorry or apologise at one time throught the Redfern address. He was acknowledging the injustices of the past - not apologising for them. So I'm not sure where you get `two sorries are better than one' - because he didn't actually say sorry.

Also, the Redfern address was made by the Prime Minister at Redfern Park and officially launched Australia’s participation in the United Nations’ International Year of the World’s Indigenous People, which had been proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly for 1993. It was by no means a formal apology such as yesterday's was.

At no time has a government of this country formally apologised specifically to the stolen generations as a piece of legislature, to be recorded as a formal apology in our history and on behalf of the government and parliament.

The apology formally opened parliament yesterday, was proposed as a motion and passed by the opposition, and an agreement was entered into to form a bipartisan indigenous affairs council. It was made government policy, and parliamentary acknowledgement and reform, and in that way supercedes anything done at Redfern (no matter how great Keating's speech was - and it was).

No this was a formal apology by the Australian government to the Stolen Generations of Indiginous Australians. A landmark, and hopefully the herald of a new future.

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins

Did Kevin Rudd ever do anything mean to the aborigines? Did you?

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Blade: "more educated and literate people than Justabubba"

Justabubba: "that would include everyone"

http://politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=27847

One 'sorry' is better than the tragedy of the historic relation between the Australian nation state and the aboriginal people who have lived there for centuries.

Anyone who doesnt know that - the dissapeared generations, the brutal cultural subjugation - should really shut their EDIT uncultured mouth.

Jake, I took you off my ignore list specifically because this debate means a lot to me and I wanted to see what you had to say.

To answer your questions: no, he didn't. Neither did I. That's not the point - and is really the main thing that the ignorant people say on this topic.

Apologising for something terrible that happened is not the same as taking responsibility. Rudd did actually address this though, in his motion, and said that some members of the current parliament were actually members of parliament during the stolen generation era, which was still going on as late as the 1970s, and signed off on the legislation, so it is still a responsibility of the current government to an extent.

However, that being said, one of my dear friends had a miscarriage last year. I told her how sorry I was that it happened. Does that mean it was my fault? No. Same thing here.

We aren't the first country to apologise for the mistreatment of our indigenous people - and it takes a big man and a humble man to apologise for the mistakes and policies of successive governments. He did it in such a tremendous way - expressing genuine and heartfelt regret for the actions of past governments, that I reiterate, he was given a standing ovation - even from the people who opposed the motion.

They deserved an apology. They got one. It's really that simple.

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins

Happy for ya, Chesny - job done! 'We have absolved ourselves of every ugly act...'

Uh....sorry!

The wording of an utterance of 'sorrow' is not even near contrition..do you not know this?

Well - he didn't actually say that. Rather, he acknowledged that his words were inadequate and that nothing he could say could ever erase the tragedies of the past - but that it was his pledge to do something about changing the future - something that other governments have tried by bandying about empty words and implementing band-aid policies, none of which have succeeded.

The whole thing from start to finish was pretty perfect really - left no stone unturned, and elevated this government to a different position than its predecessors - one who is actually going to DO something about the plight of indigenous Australians, starting with a symbolic, historic motion that has restored pride and self-respect to a vast number of our nation's forgotten people.

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins

sounds like a great event to me.

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My hats off. We could learn a few things, here. From what I hear, he's a great statesmen and a real role model. Congratz.

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"I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution." March 4, 1869, Grant's First Inaugural Address