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Apology to indigenous Australia - transcript of apology

news.com.au — "Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

Bury
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  • Diggalickable, on 02/15/2008, -14/+25Blessed Justice.
    Kudos for admitting mistakes!
    • TheRealJMX, on 02/15/2008, -17/+2"Oops sorry I kidnapped your kids and murdered your culture. My bad." That's justice?
    • Smills, on 02/16/2008, -0/+2To be honest I think that after apologizing we should stop being racist and make both races have equal rights. At the moment aboriginals get huge benefits just for being aboriginal. It is destroying them, they don't need to work so they don't work. They can do crimes and get off with small charges so they do crimes. They would actually be better off if we kept it even.
  • pceasy, on 02/15/2008, -13/+8What took so long???
    • Hellman109, on 02/15/2008, -4/+11AS per below Politics mainly. Our previous prime minister (john howard, held power for ~11 years) repeatedly refused to apologise. Kevin Rudd promised to do so before the election and has carried through. Kudos to a polotician for keeping his word.

      Also, some people believe there is no reason to say sorry, as some kids were taken with their families consent, as they believed they would get a better life. I dont care if 1% or 100% were 'stolen' or 'given', if ANY were taken against their wishes for no reason but they are an aborigional child, we should say sorry.
      • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -9/+3yeah they should have stayed to be raped and whored out.

        apologizing for what someone else did, what a ***** pussy. it is pathetic people even believe it
        • chromerium, on 02/15/2008, -3/+4You might not understand or care, but the Indigenous Australians have been mistreated and neglected for hundreds of years. If they feel they need an apology (and they did), and if thats what we need to do to start moving forward in a new spirit of reconciliation, then thats what we need to do.

          If we kept it back because of pride or some sense that it has nothing to do with this generation, then there is no way for things to move forward. Rudd has opened the door to that reconciliation, and more importantly he's forced the non-indigenous Australians to re-evaluate their prejudices.

          My respect for Rudd was already high. I feel he'll be one of our best Prime Ministers.
      • Wade, on 02/15/2008, -2/+4Who is "we"? Should only white people say sorry or are you also in a position of power in the Australian government and believe that people in positions of power in the Australian government should apologize?
  • dtele, on 02/15/2008, -7/+3Q: What took so long???
    A: Politics.
    Here is an interesting article about the after-effects of the apology today: http://digg.com/world_news/Aborigines_wept_silentl ...
  • pintomp3, on 02/15/2008, -25/+91/3 of australians feel they have nothing to apologize for. they feel kidnapping children and breaking up families is perfectly ok.
    • dvsbastard, on 02/15/2008, -8/+29Or some of us just believe there is no reason to apologise for the atrocious crimes of previous generations, and of which we have all condemned... An apology should remain a personal response to an action we have committed to show remorse... An apology on behalf of someone elses actions is hollow - especially if we did not, and will not ever approve of those actions...

      Who here would apologise for the crimes of a father who you never knew?!
      • Cunninlynguist, on 02/15/2008, -3/+7i'm german, does that count for me too?
        • InspectorGadget, on 02/15/2008, -2/+13Yes. The Holocaust has nothing to do with you.
        • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -2/+5yes, i know germans still feel ashamed, they shouldnt. just dont forget basically.
          • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -2/+2Sorry mate, meant to digg you and slipped.
          • yllaji, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2I'm Chinese. What shell i do?
      • salmonmoose, on 02/15/2008, -1/+11I'm sure it's been pointed out to you, but this went on until ~1970, it's not like it's ancient history. We still celebrate Anzac day, why not apologize for more recent events?
        • dvsbastard, on 02/15/2008, -4/+3Celebrating in remembrance and appreciation is one thing... I am still personally thankful and grateful that those who fought (and died) all those years did so for the liberties we have today... Lest we forget... I on the other hand do not expect to be thanked, or offered some kind of medal for their bravery...

      • pintomp3, on 02/15/2008, -3/+3you are the direct beneficiary of the crimes.
      • BillDoor, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2dvsbastard, what generation are you talking about ? There are about 6 generations alive right now. Are you talking about a 10 year olds generation, Rudds generation, Howards generation or Whitlams generations. These practices didn't stop until the 1970's, so Howards and Whitlams generations most certainly do have something to say sorry for. Plus the issue of stolen wages continued into the 1990's.
      • chromerium, on 02/15/2008, -1/+3"Something like this just erases everything, that's what I say," said Enid Williams, who accepted the apology on behalf of several family members who were removed from their homes several decades ago.

        "We're going to be looked at differently as a result of this apology," she added. "We're getting the respect we want and truly deserve."

        If this is what we needed to do to help these people move forward, then I'm fine with it.
    • doctorfungi, on 02/15/2008, -7/+9Um, *****. That's the lamest excuse for a straw man fallacy I've ever heard.
      Here's the deal. This "1/3 of Australians" opposes having to apologize themselves, but the large majority of this 1/3 supports the government apologizing. I don't feel kidnapping children is ok, and you suggesting so is deplorable. However, if you can demonstrate how I was involved, I will apologize for whatever it is that I did. Until then, the government can apologize on behalf of the government and leave me the hell out of it.
    • elvis699, on 02/15/2008, -5/+7Us Australians are made up of those all over the world aren't we? So if you say that then why isn't the entire world saying sorry? What happened was terrible i know, but why would it be my fault and not yours?
    • deadmann, on 02/15/2008, -4/+6Is it right to remove children from abusive parents? Doing it community wide undoubtedly is not, but very many of them were removed from abuse towards their mixed-race by the community. I oppose the practice and feel 0 guilt for something I had no hand in.
      • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -5/+2removing 1 abused child is right, removing 1000 abused children is still right. scale doesnt matter.

        but hey, maybe they could have stayed together to be raped together and drank/sniff gas
      • akashra, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2Wait, so removing one abused child is the right thing to do, but because it's common it no longer becomes moral? This whole "stolen generation" thing is so misportrayed it's embarassing. The PC wing just want to make it sound like all of them were removed from their parents for no just reason, whereas the reality was there was a just reason in many cases. I'm not saying all, because I can't speak to that, but all evidence points to most, and the whole thing is just being misrepresented.
      • deadmann, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1I meant assuming that the abuse is community wide rather than assessing whether it exists in each case.
    • avatarpalin, on 02/15/2008, -2/+1Ummmm source??
  • jennyv13, on 02/15/2008, -17/+20did anyone hear brenden nelson "apology"? what embarrasement! was a sorry excuse for an apology!!!!
    • doctorfungi, on 02/15/2008, -7/+23What, because he said some Aboriginals are "living lives of existential aimlessness"? You're irrational and unreasonable if you think he's wrong. Take one walk into Redfern in Sydney and tell me it's all flowers and lollipops. I'm not saying it's their fault for living that way, and neither did Nelson. The man was just being straight up, instead of jumping on the political correctness bandwagon.

      The man stood up for the decent portion of Australians who rightfully consider themselves to not be personally at fault for the stolen generation, and why would we be at fault? We weren't even born yet. Like many of us though, he still apologized on behalf of our ancestors.
      • ozroy, on 02/15/2008, -7/+6No. Because he pretty much said that the stolen generation was an unfortunate but necessary event in our history.

        That is not an apology.
        • BillDoor, on 02/15/2008, -5/+8That's exactly what he said. We're sorry but us poor whites have had it so hard. We had no choice but to exploit you to made white Australia so great. Nelson is a idiot.
    • BowieX, on 02/15/2008, -4/+13I think Nelson was simply balancing the "cold, hard facts" that Rudd said needed to be confronted, with the "cold, hard facts" of the living conditions of the current generation of Aborigines. On a national day of honesty, healing and compassion, it would be counter-productive to look at the Aboriginal community of today through rose-coloured glasses.

      And that realistic admission strengthens the case for Rudd's "closing the gap" plans with which Nelson has agreed: rather than back up an apology with welfare-based compensation, the Government should back up the apology by trying to practically establish greater health and education institutions in the admittedly troubled towns in which predominantly Aboriginal communities reside.
      • andymate, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2There is no such thing as practical health and education institutions, when everyone in the community is already on welfare and in community housing. Its called a money pit.
        • the6thReplicant, on 02/15/2008, -1/+1Yeah but you forget who actually gets to keep most of the money and it ain't the black fellas sitting around drinking grog.
    • mindglow, on 02/15/2008, -3/+1Nelson' was embarrassing. It was all over the place, and was aimed to keep his job. He was trying to make some members of his party happy. If you look at it in the context of the historic occasion, it was not in the spirit of the day and really showed poor leadership. I'll give him 6 months if he's lucky.
      • opiniastrous, on 02/15/2008, -1/+1You know, Nelson and various other Coalition ministers wanted to say sorry before the 13th of Feb 2008. The problem was that the Prime Minister (and probably some others) didn't.
  • sfacets, on 02/15/2008, -17/+4"I Said It's too late t'apologize"... Timbaland has never been so right.
    • InspectorGadget, on 02/15/2008, -0/+6Timbaland has NEVER been right. He can't even spell.
  • ametitul, on 02/15/2008, -9/+1to late for something wich could ment a big deal for them
    • shrewduser, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2probably also too late for you to learn how to spell correctly....
  • empirefalling, on 02/15/2008, -9/+31The United States has a longer list of apologies to manage. 200 years worth.
    • InspectorGadget, on 02/15/2008, -12/+5You can go ahead and make them. I haven't been alive for 200 years so I bear no responsibility for them. By the way, what personal satisfaction do you get out of consistently being an anti-American douchebag? Oh, that's right, you're a socialist so the ideal of self-sufficiency behind much of the success of the United States offends you. ***** the nanny state and ***** political correctness.
      • mindsnare, on 02/15/2008, -5/+8Typical right winger, confusing political stance with patriotism. Idiot.
        • InspectorGadget, on 02/15/2008, -3/+4No, in actually, I'm a minarchist, not a "right winger". There is no question that the founders of this country did not desire a welfare state or big government. That is clearly spelled out in the fact that the Constitution is more of a check on government power than a grant thereof. Europeans, throughout history until recently, have been technologically far ahead of everyone they've conquered. Leaving aside the impact of technology on natural selection, the fact that a bunch of people that lived in animal skin huts got their asses kicked by a bunch of people that had steel weapons has no impact on me. I don't question anybody's "patriotism"; what I do question is the degree to which people will reach to condemn the United States for acts that would be perfectly acceptable in any other context. Your anti-Americanism springs from your desire to re-shape the country in violation of the explicit limits on government power inherent in our founding document, not your distaste for the American political trends of the moment. Poltiical correctness retards critical thinking, and the sooner people the proponents of big government die the better of we'll all be.
        • the6thReplicant, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1>> what I do question is the degree to which people will reach to condemn the United States for acts that would be perfectly acceptable in any other context

          Well that's all fine and good but do you want to describe what those are. I'm sure *most* people are thinking: the current Iraq war; the overthrow of democratically elected governments and some other biggies.

          I'm also happy to admit that a some people are ***** idiots and don't understand why the American experiment is something to be proud of. On the other hand there a lot *more* ***** idiots that can't take some well documented criticism about the country they live in.

    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -4/+8no we dont, no one alive is responsible for any of those acts (except the more recent decades, in which case well ***** off)
      Apologies on the behalf of your ancestors is retarded
      • Lochie, on 02/15/2008, -4/+2I dunno, if I met someone and they told me that my grandfather had punched their grandfather in the face and given him cancer or something, well, I'd probably say sorry.
        • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -1/+3why? the person you are saying sorry to wasnt harmed, and i didnt do the harming...
          you cant apologize on behalf of someoen else...an apology should mean somehting you cant expouse regret and remorse onbehalf of someone that is dead...
      • Vodka2389, on 02/15/2008, -1/+10I agree. You gotta be a huge pussy to apologize for something your ancestors did to someone else's ancestors.
        • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -3/+3Thanks for your naive thoughts. Born in 1989 I assume? You've got a lot of growing up to do mate, you should sit on your ***** mouth in the meantime; maybe you'll learn something.
  • DogWithHiv, on 02/15/2008, -24/+8Dear Native Types,

    Sorry for making you all sniff glue and get your children pregnant for all those years.

    Love

    Australia
  • osfadli, on 02/15/2008, -6/+0ehmmmm try to understand
  • retzed, on 02/15/2008, -7/+13Kevin 07 should give the aborigines some casinos to make up for the stolen generations.
  • doctorfungi, on 02/15/2008, -9/+42It's good that our government apologized. However, all you P-C hippies who are trying to hold our current generation of Australians responsible can get *****.
    The federal government apologized as an organization on behalf of its past membership. I'm sorry it happened, but I'm not apologizing myself. I had nothing to do with it. So yesterday I said "sorry" in the way that you say "I'm sorry" to someone who's just lost a love one. Not as an apology.
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -5/+9I do not understand why an apology made on the behalf of someone else should be taken seriously. you should not apologize for something you did not do. you can express concern and remorse in other ways, but an apology means you are sorry for committing the act.
    • onClipEvent, on 02/15/2008, -4/+3This should also apply to African Americans, North American First Nations, Chinese head-tax (Canada), and Japanese Internment Camp......just to name a few....too bad there are people that will always blame their problems on someone else.
      • unitethenations, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4The Japanese-American already got an apology and restitution.
        • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -3/+1slaves got an apology (although i doubt they care since they are dead), black people were even included in that apology too
    • okami182, on 02/15/2008, -7/+3I completely agree with you man. People are claiming that we should (in America) give reparations for slavery. However it is the same as what you say. We can say "we're sorry that your ancestors were slaves" but there is no point in paying out money to someone who was never wronged in the first place. I agree with the apology, however the monetary compensation I don't necessarily agree with. I am Japanese, my grandparents were in the camps during WWII, yet I still don't exactly agree with the monetary compensation given to the Japanese years later.
      • the6thReplicant, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1But it is OK to gain all the benefits and wealth generating opportunities from the slave labor's work?

        So in other words you're a sore winner without an inch of kindness.
    • pintomp3, on 02/15/2008, -6/+5how about i come over, steal your house, kill a bunch of your family, and steal your kids. then one day my kid, while living in your house, can spit on your kids "i don't owe you *****, it wasn't me"
      • MrWhite7, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4I'd personally wonder why the hell you were still hanging out in the yard?
        • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+1When do we spit on these abouriginals ***** if society sucked up any more to abouriginals we'd have to all die our skin brown, grow up look at the real situation this isnt a plea to get an apology this is a plea to ensure they can continue bludging off the government as they have been for the past 30 years.
          We are raising a race of spoilt brats who dont need to do any thing to progress in life and that is the true sin of our government, if they were amongst any other society they would be forced to grow up, if you want to teach people about mistakes do it buy proving to society what u can do dont become the bottom of society and winge about it.
          Before one of you complaines that we dont give an oppertunity to abouriginal people look at abouriginal aplications to universities and the preferance they get!.
    • ptFoe, on 02/15/2008, -4/+6Load of ***** just because you change the board of directors a company can't dismiss it's responsibility for past wrong doings.
      • MrWhite7, on 02/15/2008, -0/+6Soverign immunity v. corporate immunity... guess which one exists
    • loopyloopy, on 02/15/2008, -2/+7The reason for the apology is a landmark to acknowledge a previous government policy was a mistake. The reason this is so important is because that particular policy basically supported the idea that indigenous Australians could not look after their own children. (a basic human right, which is funny because they did OK for 40 000 years previously) Its also important that this is brought to the attention of all Australians.
      So this is a major step toward reconciliation.
      A lot of non-indigenous Australians cannot understand this and take offense that they should feel the need to say sorry. Its the government that is apologizing on behalf of elected governments past and present. Its not an apology from European Australians toward Aborigines.
      • stack3r, on 02/15/2008, -3/+5Funny they were taken so they could be more easily intergrated into the white society. Had nothing to do with them being able to look after their kids. By the way, when are they going to accept our appology ?
        Im sorry we gave them the equivilent of $48,000 per mother and child with little result. Can we stop giving them money now? I could really do with $48,000, would help my family immensely, but since im not aboriginal, or not working or getting high off paints and fuel i cant get it :( Instead work for my money, go through tons of ***** just to get family benefits, i wish i could tick the single "im a aboriginal" box on the first page of the forms and be on my way with money out the door.
        • loopyloopy, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2the kind of atitude you display is precisely why these people need to be compensated. the likes of you wont employ them because of your prejudiced atitude - and the indigenous people know this. would you like to trade places?
          dont be so selfish.
          • stack3r, on 02/18/2008, -0/+1The likes of me? Dont try stuff the racist label on me just because i dont like the obvious differences in government assistance. I dont care who i work with, and if i was an employeer i would employ anyone that could get the job done. Political correctness is a farce and you are a assistant of it.
        • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2yes as simple as that, looking at a whole family of people who have never had to work a day in there life own a plasma tv and a damn nice computer whilst living in suburban sydney claming to be an abouriginal family. i would have to say yes, what u have to look at though is who should get this assistance should it be simple bludgers in the middle of sydney who have a million oppertunities to make there own money Or should it be the ones who are still amongst there culture in the country side trying to make a living.
          im all for supoort and pitty but lets give it to the bunch that are trying not the ones who see it as a free ride.
    • reddfox321, on 02/15/2008, -0/+13I find it amusing that everyday most of us take pride in our ancestor's acts... when they're positive. We might brag that a relative invented something. We might brag that our relative held high office. I see people take pride in such things that they've never "done" themselves just about everyday. However when we know our ancestors ***** up we try to sweep it under the rug. We pretend those actions don't have repercussions throughout time. And sometimes even as we exploit the situation for our own gain, we pretend that those actions haven't ***** other peoples over.
      An apology can't fix all of that. It can't. But I think everybody can appreciate the gesture as long as its a call to action: to make an effort to treat everybody like human beings.
      • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0pride in our ansestors acts ... a ton of ours were brought over as criminals by a system that was known to be corrupt by this mentality we should be sue mother england for the hardship it did to our ancestors, what is the point where we decide people need to stop apologising for anothers actions?
        if my father punches you in the face i wont apologise for him as he is an idiot for doing so. think relative we seem to think its ok to just apologise on behalf of people who if were alive today would still tell them to go F*ck them selves. who are we to apologise for there acts if even today they wouldent see it as wrong.
      • Dark1Knight, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Thanks for being one of the few people here who makes sense.
    • aussieNickuss, on 02/15/2008, -1/+8I think the occasion is more about recognizing and accepting the events that occurred as a nation. Current generations can't really say "sorry", as we didn't play a personal role in the events......we can however say that we are sorry that it happened and feel for them.

      A lot of people don't actually see the significance of what took place on Wednesday. If you go back 10,20 or 50+ years ago, you would have never thought the white population of Australia would become so non-racist and accepting as they are now. It truly is amazing.
      • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0i say apologise to asians first for the harships we put on them, then non anglu euro's then abouriginals do it in order...... ohh wait those other ones didnt lie down after there hard ships and pretend to be all suffering, If ur stupid enough to think we were harsh on abouriginals you should look at the ***** we did to asians when they first tried coming out here and then ur gut will cringe.
  • TheRealToma, on 02/15/2008, -15/+21Proud day to be an Australian of any race.
    • aussieNickuss, on 02/15/2008, -2/+4Proud day TWO days ago you mean?
    • diceau, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0Proud day? Why, because we (the current generation) didn't do anything wrong but are being treated as criminals for something people not even related to us did? Yeah, whatever.

      Typical racist garbage. It's always the white man's fault,regardless of whether he's a good man or not. Apparently the fact that his race won all the wars earlier means innocent people now have to apologize to everyone.
      • the6thReplicant, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1>> It's always the white man's fault

        No that's how you read it. If you look at the world and see how interconnected it is and how one greedy action here, ***** up people over there, then we can have a debate.
  • phenry50BMG, on 02/15/2008, -11/+13I'm curious, what exactly was accomplished by this? Admitting guilt to something you can't be punished for is a borderline mockery.

    Whoops, sorry we decimated your race/creed. Hope you accept our sincere apologies and get over it now. Thanks - government.

    No matter where you live, there is nothing more destructive than a group of well-wishers who put themselves on a pedestal for the "greater good". Interestingly enough, their idea of providing for the "greater good" always seems to come with a heavy price to those who just want to be left alone to live their lives peacefully without buying into the "greater good" scam.
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -5/+2admitting guilt to something you did not even do, apologizing to people that were not even the victims (although their circumstances have been effected in history, but the fact remains, the crimes were not against them)
      • gablestein, on 02/15/2008, -2/+4Quote "admitting guilt to something you did not even do, apologizing to people that were not even the victims (although their circumstances have been effected in history, but the fact remains, the crimes were not against them)"

        just illustrates how unqualified you are to make comments like those above. Aboriginal australians, were removed from their families up until 1970, get your ***** correct b4 making such statements

        If you don't know what you are talking about keep it to yourself mate.
        • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -3/+0okay the decision makers that made those events occur should apologize, the current people in government should not since they did not seperate those families. I am sure there may be 2-3 people still working from upwards of 40 years ago...

          so stfu mate

          the few people that were even employed at the time that happened (even in the 70s which was quite a while ago politically/career wise) were in there 20s they were not exactly the decision makers...

          you can stop cutting and pasting your idiocy now mate
          your beer sucks btw
      • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0how about the continued abuse to other races than abouriginals that continued up till the late 80's
    • diceau, on 02/15/2008, -2/+0We (current generation) didn't do anything. Thanks for trying to place the guilt on someone, though, and because we're Australians now, apparently that falls on us. I wasn't even alive at that point, so what am I apologizing for? For being a great citizen with no criminal record and never even being in a fight? Yeahhhhhhhh ok, I'll apologize.

      Damn wannabe righteous hippies.
  • dtele, on 02/15/2008, -7/+5DIGG censored this article - this article sat at the top of world news upcoming for 12 hours, and was not allowed to pass to the front page. Is Digg biased? I cannot understand this when other websites have multiple daily front page articles. Why are you censoring an Australian new site DIGG ?
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -16/+2no one gives a crap about aussies?
      • dvsbastard, on 02/15/2008, -1/+19Hey, go ***** yourself mate!
      • gablestein, on 02/15/2008, -1/+6that's right and the world revolves around your arse, ftard
        • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -10/+1i didnt realize australians wrote as retarded as they spoke, interesting mate
          ps digg is 90% US centric, get used to it
          • dvsbastard, on 02/15/2008, -1/+7Maybe so, but you do not represent that 90%...

            You are a disgrace to Americans...
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0Flame-warrior.
    • InspectorGadget, on 02/15/2008, -9/+3Because that which impacts a tiny minority of people largely without an internet presence doesn't merit recognition on an internet news aggregator.
      • aussieNickuss, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2There is so much trivial ***** on digg every day that has absolutely so significance at all. Why should such a historical event not be considered important enough to be on the FP?
    • gmiley, on 02/15/2008, -1/+13Yes, digg is obviously pushing its anti-aboriginal agenda...
    • PurpleSfinx, on 02/15/2008, -0/+3We all know Digg is only here to let people push pro ObamaPaul propaganda. They're US politicians, and this has something to do with the Australian government - That precious frew lines of space could be used about an article like 'Clinton drowns puppies' or 'Hilary runs over orphanage with steamroller'.
  • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -12/+3The apology also gives an offer for all the gasoline you can sniff.
    Oil prices expected to reach $200 a barrel by the time they are done with that deal
    • gablestein, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2Quote "admitting guilt to something you did not even do, apologizing to people that were not even the victims (although their circumstances have been effected in history, but the fact remains, the crimes were not against them)"

      just illustrates how unqualified you are to make comments like those above. Aboriginal australians, were removed from their families up until 1970, get your ***** correct b4 making such statements

      If you don't know what you are talking about keep it to yourself mate.
      • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0okay the decision makers that made those events occur should apologize, the current people in government should not since they did not seperate those families. I am sure there may be 2-3 people still working from upwards of 40 years ago...
        so stfu mate
      • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0those people in the 70s that are still in the government, well they are gearing up for retirement now. they were in their 20s at the time, they were hardly the decision makers of that time period. the people that comitted those crimes are long dead or retired. unless they apoligize, this gesture is meaningless and simply a pr move

        maybe we should call up the UN on the aussies for crimes against humantiy?
    • muxaulo, on 02/15/2008, -0/+3Hey Tweekster, are you Wilson Tuckey's love child?
      • the6thReplicant, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1I think Tweekster had to do some homework for his Aboriginal studies course in primary school and this is his only outlet.
  • blitzer, on 02/15/2008, -2/+18At the end of the day.. the Indigenous people really wanted an apology. Heartfelt or hollow.. if it helps them as a people it was worth it.
    • gudnbluts, on 02/15/2008, -6/+2They really want their porn and booze back, but I guess an apology's nice too.
  • hearingvoices, on 02/15/2008, -17/+4I'll go on record to say that as an Australian, I do NOT want them to do this.

    I do not want anyone apologising for me. I didn't do anything wrong. I'm in my late 20s, and this happened before I was born. Why the hell should I say sorry?

    I'm not sorry. I have nothing to be sorry for. Maybe they should start apologising to me every time they break into my car.
    • mindsnare, on 02/15/2008, -3/+12For starters, if you had actually listened or read what was said, you would note that they were not apologizing on behalf of you, they were apologizing on behalf of the government & parliament. People seem to have always had these ignorant opinions on the matter without looking into the facts. Christ, half of the talk back I hear on the radio the people bitching about the apology think they are apologizing for taking their land when Australia was first colonised. Completely untrue, they apologizing for taking aboriginal children away from their parents from roughing 1950s to 1970s. There are still members of parliament today who where part of the government that had the policy.
      • hearingvoices, on 02/15/2008, -5/+2I understand what you are saying, but I do not believe that the government has anything to answer for either.

        They took the children out of crappy conditions to try to improve their lives. I think it probably helped them. It's not like they did it to try to destroy them. This entire thing is a load of PC crap.

        So I'll rephrase my post. I don't want them to apologise on *behalf* of me (whether they say they are or not, that is how it feels), or for the government's actions.
        • tmbrwolf19, on 02/15/2008, -0/+6I dunno about there, but Canada's "Residential School's" put native kids through some of the worst conditions imaginable. Children were beaten for speaking the language the spoke at home, they we forced to abandon everything they were taught by their parents, some were raped by the low lifes who ran these places, and countless other horror stories. We put people in prison today for what we paid some to do 40 years ago. If I grew up in those conditions, I sure as hell would want someone to at least admit they did me wrong.
        • hearingvoices, on 02/15/2008, -3/+2Great.... so track down the people that made the choices at the time and get them to apologise. Anything else is meaningless... how can you take an apology seriously when the person making it has no connection to the events?
          • mindsnare, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4meaningless to you maybe, but it was incredibly meaningful to the people being apologized to. How can you know what they've been through?
  • SpatulaTheMixer, on 02/15/2008, -16/+11Aborigines need to get over themselves. Europeans came to the Americas and made the Western hemisphere what it is today yet the only people we see complaining are the Indians in the U.S. They too need to get over the fact that they were militarily and socially inept at defending themselves from the (ethically questionable) Conquistadors and pilgrims. You lost the war, get over it. You don't see Mexican people complaining over Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, etc so just stop whining and start opening casinos in Australia or something -- it seems to have shut the Indians up.
    • btltez, on 02/15/2008, -3/+2you are an ignorant *****. perhaps you should not believe your sixth grade history books. The Lakota Sioux were ''militarily inept''?? Ever heard of the Battle of Little Big Horn?? Ever read about Crazy Horse??
      Do you have ANY idea what ''the indians'' are complaining about?? i would love to drop your uncompassionate ignorant probably white middle class suburban ass onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Then tell me about ''getting over it"
      • diceau, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0WTF are you on about? They were obviously unable to defend themselves because the white man won. That's how wars go. Yeah, it sucks, and it should never have happened, but the world wasn't as civilized as it should have been back then. Hell, even now America is invading Iraq, and they don't even want the land (just the oil right?).

        War sucks. People suck. Stop making the innocent people apologize and pay for the crimes of others. Seriously, take your ***** righteousness elsewhere, I'm sick to death of having the guilt put on me for something that had nothing to do with me or who I am.
  • Ryvenn, on 02/15/2008, -16/+16Lame. The "stolen generation" turned out pretty bloody good which is more than I can say for the ones that stayed where they were. They should be thanking the government for saving them from growing up in the middle of an alcoholic, dead end community.
    • btltez, on 02/15/2008, -8/+4another ignorant *****. try reading about the ''indian boarding schools'' that were in the U.S.A.
      then maybe you will not only understand the ''stolen generation'' but perhaps gain some knowledge of what actually happened to an entire culture and race of people.
      • hearingvoices, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1Way to go, retard. Understand one scenario by reading about another totally different scenario.
    • mindglow, on 02/15/2008, -6/+7are you kidding? You sound like you know them all? How many stories did you hear about the suffering that some of the stolen generation went through. The mothers and fathers they didn't get to know. Stripped of dignity and their culture. And the ones you hear about that "turned out pretty bloody good" are obviously the ones that survived as well, and the ones that now have the courage to talk about their experience.
      • hearingvoices, on 02/16/2008, -0/+2Come to WA some time. The ones that he is talking about did "turn out bloody good" compared to the ones that were left behind to be raised by their natural parents.
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -8/+4but they could be whoring themselves out for beer as a family!
    • phazon88, on 02/15/2008, -4/+8Who introduced alcohol to their communities? Think about that.
    • metalspud, on 02/15/2008, -3/+7This is the attitude of a large majority of non-Aboriginal Australian's and the ***** Aboriginal people have to put up every day of their lives. Australia has such a large racism problem against the Aboriginal population its sickening (im in Perth WA). For the record Aboriginal children (100,000+) were forcibly taken from their parents up to 1970 in an attempt by the Australian government to assimilate their race.

      I think this apology is justified.
  • lodog85, on 02/15/2008, -8/+3well done to a labor government for actually going through with a pre-election promise. however, i feel that there is nothing i should be sorry for myself for past generation atrocities, or not even atrocities if it was done to help give the children a better life. now i suppose they'll be expecting plenty of $$$, because we all know they haven't been given enough of that! pfft.
  • despisedIcon, on 02/15/2008, -8/+10in twenty years the government will be apologizing again for not preventing aboriginal kids from being gang raped by their own alcoholic families
    • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -2/+1So they should If that's the case in 20 years. I've posted this before, but again the government needs to give them targeted education and social services to break the cycle. there wouldn't be a problem of they did this earlier.
      • auzziedigger, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1You can spend all the taxpayers money on aborigines and they're still going to be aborigines. Nothing will change.
    • zellis, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2It's current goverment policy to support familial gang rape by alcoholics?

      Or do you really think the apology wasn't for an official government policy? Rudd apologised as a lawmaker and a representative of Australian parliament.
  • C0MF0RTABLYnumb, on 02/15/2008, -5/+7I think this is great. I wish the US would do the same for the Native Americans who probably went through rougher times.
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2we did, a few times. we even gave them casinos. they learned to deal. the only people that still give a ***** are white people that need to feel some guilt
  • ptFoe, on 02/15/2008, -4/+5Just because you change the board of directors in a company you can't dismiss it's responsibility for past wrong doings.
    Same thing applies to governments.
    • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -2/+1when the board of directors has changed a few times, yes you can...
      particulary when they were voted out by the public at large
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -1/+5You're not even Australian - stop submitting your unintelligent remarks like
        "i didnt realize australians wrote as retarded as they spoke, interesting mate ps digg is 90% US centric, get used to it"
        and ***** OFF. You are promoting the stereotype (which I do not subscribe to) that Americans are idiots.
  • frostieDude, on 02/15/2008, -2/+4The real question was whether the prime minister was willing to remove his glasses during the apology.
  • Tweekster, on 02/15/2008, -13/+2australia, it is like alabama with a beach.
    A country with a gigantic belt buckle that says "no fat chicks"
    • megahan, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1What do you know about Australia?
    • PurpleSfinx, on 02/15/2008, -0/+3Get the hell off digg, you are a disgrace to the world.
  • Damovisa, on 02/15/2008, -2/+10It's not really that complicated. To all those people who say that they have nothing to be sorry for, yes, you're right, you don't - you didn't do anything wrong. And you're not saying sorry. The Australian government isn't saying sorry on your behalf, they're saying sorry on the government's behalf.

    The simple facts are that the Aboriginal people rightly felt pissed off that what was done to them, good or bad, was done without their consent and against their will in almost all cases. And those responsible never admitted they did anything wrong, nor did they apologise. If those individuals responsible could apologise, then that would be much better, but the fact is at the time it was an Australian government decision and the Australian government was therefore responsible.

    Whether the apology "means anything" to an individual is irrelevant. 1) Something bad was done, 2) those that suffered or those who had ancestors that suffered never got an apology and wanted one, 3) The government, on behalf of previous governments, apologised for what was done.

    Nobody is putting words in your mouth - you personally are not sorry and you shouldn't be.
    • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1the government has been preaching that it was wrong for a long time, we are taught about it in schools and alot of government funded media.
    • diceau, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0The apology was said to have been from all Australians. I read it in 3 different news articles in 3 different sources. The actual speech doesn't refer to all Australians, but that's how it's being portrayed elsewhere.

      Even still, the Australian government shouldn't be apologizing either. Unless there are actually people in there still that condoned these sorts of actions? I'd wager the entire government has changed now, so who is really able to apologize exactly?
  • Curlz31, on 02/15/2008, -9/+3No government will apologize on my behalf and without my permission, Mr Rudd. If I am to apologize for something, it will be from my own mouth.
    • Damovisa, on 02/15/2008, -1/+5They're not apologizing on your behalf, they're apologizing on the government's behalf. You didn't do anything wrong, why should you apologise?
    • loopyloopy, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4the government is apologizing for a previous policy which said indigenous Australians were not fit to look after their own children. (they did ok for 40 thousand years before the Euros arrived)
      they're not apologizing on behalf of you, you selfish dick.
    • Curlz31, on 02/15/2008, -4/+3To the idiots flaming me, the present-day government IS the people of the day. My tax-dollars were spent so that Kevin Rudd could spend time apologizing for something in which those responsible should have been apologizing for.
      The people who need to apologize are the people who voted for the representatives who were responsible for the policies.
      People in this country think the government needs to be their conscience. They worship government. They think a present day government can speak for all the people living, as well as those which have passed away. I think people are all individuals and if individuals feel they should apologize, they should do so.

      I'm sure 90% of the Australian population doesn't even know what the 'stolen generation' is. I would prefer it if every Australian educated themselves on these issues and did what they thought was right as individuals. But, of course, they continue going out and getting drunk and high, while letting giving their all-mighty government the power to control their lives. They are sheeple. They are asking to be enslaved.
  • rye128, on 02/15/2008, -3/+2Reconciliation FTW!!!
  • halohunter, on 02/15/2008, -3/+6In related news, compensation cases by aboriginals of the stolen generation have been opened up.
    • stack3r, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4Wont happen, all you people going on about "oh no compo claims are gonna come rolling in" are idiots.

      Part of this whole appology thing was that there was going to be NO COMPENSATION PAY OUT, right from the words of the person who presented the appology.

      K thx
  • unida767, on 02/15/2008, -8/+6The only reason the issue of us (white Australia) saying "Sorry" is alive is for compensation. They wanted us to admit wrong doings so they could get paid. I can't stand this ***** about them being unfaily treated. They were forcably removed from a destructive, substance abusing, hunter gatherer, chauvenistic socity. That had continued to exist the same way without technological advancement for thousands of years. European settlement brought them kicking and screeming into the modern age. Boo Hoo
    • PurpleSfinx, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4"European settlement brought them kicking and screeming into the modern age."

      They were fine the way they were. And why do you have to blow a race to pieces to bring it technology? You know many of them were killed, right? How is that not unfair treatment.
    • zellis, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2The tears I saw from the people watching tell me it was about much more than money.

      Unless of course you think those sinister aborigines were streaming crocodile tears in order to bolster their financial claims. Is that what you believe?
    • Antart, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0Substance abusing without technological advancement?
  • CliftonSantiago, on 02/15/2008, -7/+2Anyone who says there shouldn't be an apology, or that the Aust govt is not apologising on their behalf, is a racist. Pure and simple. What the Aborigines suffered and continue to suffer is genocide. Their country was invaded, their children taken from them, their culture destroyed. They seemed to be doing fine for the 60,000 years before European settlement, so to say that the state they're in now is no fault of white Australians is absolute rubbish.
    • andymate, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2When the Europeans arrived the Aboriginals were doing the same thing they are doing now. Nothing.
  • martypb, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2For anyone interested in another analysis of the situation:
    http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/yes-to-heal-the ...
  • bonjourmr, on 04/25/2008, -4/+1I see what you did there.
  • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -2/+6Wow, so many of you sound like the right-wing wackjobs that ring up Alan Jones. The only element open to criticism with the sorry speech is that it focused on the 'Stolen Generation', but the essence of the apology was to recognise that the non-native inhabitants ***** up a 40,000 year old society. Were the Aboriginal children in danger of starvation, disease and rape before colonisation? No. But some of the children definitely were in poor conditions once their families were stripped of their land and culture and relocated. The grounds for criticism are based on labeling Aboriginals as glue-sniffing felons - and walk down Everley Street in Redfern and you'll see just that - but is this the natural progression for a proud race of people who survived in the desert for thousands of years? Obviously not. Am I, a 24 year old white Australian, to blame? No way. I don't feel guilt about it as I wasn't involved and I can safely assume neither were you. But these people have been served the raw end of the stick for years. There is an entrenched stigamtism against them and, while they recieve XXX benefits, our governments have done nothing to seriously help these people out. The Libs were scared of compensation, as was I the taxpayer. But Rudd took the time to craft a response which would both reach out to those people whose lives were impacted by the era of Terra Nullis and which would avoid mass compensation. These people should not (and most would not) pursue a lawsuit because our new government sought to heal wounds. They need targeted healthcare, education and social services and it needs to target the young. Poverty and abuse follows generations as anyone who knows any sociology is aware.
    • andymate, on 02/15/2008, -1/+3"essence of the apology was to recognise that the non-native inhabitants ***** up a 40,000 year old society."
      It wasn't a society, in 40,000 years the aboriginals did absolutely nothing to evolve or further themselves.

      "They need targeted healthcare, education and social services and it needs to target the young. "
      Why beat a dead horse? You lefties ask for equality and aboriginals already get cheaper healthcare, free education (Ok its not so good in alot of areas), Free housing which gets trashed on a regular basis and social services such as libraries. I haven't seen a library for caucasian people, yet there is libraries for torres straight islanders and aboriginals. Equality? The word has no meaning to me anymore.
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/16/2008, -0/+0If you gave a bum $5, would he buy a sandwich or a beer? If you threw a flyer on how to survive depression at someone about to slit their wrists and walked away, would they still kill themselves? These services exist to a degree, but there needs to be serious intervention to help these people out. Leftist appeals for these things sounds like a broken record but they are only every piecemeal offerings, there is never a concerted effort to really fix the problem, its just to shut them up. Hence it is setup to fail.
    • auzziedigger, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1"Wow, so many of you sound like the right-wing wackjobs that ring up Alan Jones. The only element open to criticism with the sorry speech is that it focused on the 'Stolen Generation', but the essence of the apology was to recognise that the non-native inhabitants ***** up a 40,000 year old society. Were the Aboriginal children in danger of starvation, disease and rape before colonisation? No."

      You SERIOUSLY believe the perfectly innocent and pious aboriginal people of Australia were universally well fed, had top-notch healthcare and education, and never engaged in rape or violence before EVIL RACIST WHITEY arrived?
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/16/2008, -0/+0Of course they didn't have top-notch health and education - they made ***** paintings from ochre and punch the teeth out of young males as a rite of passage into adulthood. Did I SERIOUSLY say they did? No, can't find that statement anywhere. You just stated the obvious. But that lifestyle is gone now, hence the sorry, and they now need health, education and social services. Their lifestyle is ***** and it needs to be fixed.
  • bonecones, on 02/15/2008, -2/+10I'm an immigrant in Australia and since I've only been here for less than an year I still don't get some stuff that happens.
    It is very common for me to be walking on the street and see aborigines completely wasted, shouting and vandalizing stuff while the police does nothing. The other day an aboriginal lady smashed some chairs at a McDonalds because she felt she didn't have to pay for her big mac. The police was just outside the store watching everything and did nothing. What gives? Why the hell is the police eager to give a white kid ***** for anything while aborgines get away with a lot of *****? Seriously, I'm not trolling, I really want someone to explain that to me as I am honestly curious.
    • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -3/+2The welfare paid to Aboriginals is comparable to giving $10 to a homeless person - they will probably buy beer with it, and you can't blame them given their circumstances. The government throws money at these people and expects them to use it to pull themselves out of abject poverty and ***** living conditions, but any reasonable person knows this is naive. There has simply not been a concerted effort to stop the generation cycle. They are just relocated into housing commissions, given discounts on this and that and paid out, so the government and these right-wing ***** can say they are doing something. They recently called the military in to remote communities to sort out all the abuse problems once they realized they aren't making a difference.
      • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2Asians did it, so did most greeks and italians when they came over and they didnt get the governmental hand outs (you see where im going)
  • ekranoplan, on 02/15/2008, -2/+10Some people really need to use their ***** heads.

    Saying "sorry" in this way isn't an admission of guilt, either by the government OR by them on behalf of the Australian people. Like others have said, it's simply saying "we're sorry this happened" the same way you do when consoling a bereaved person.

    Sure, bring up the old straw man of 'liberation' from abuse, alcoholism and (as some bright ***** spark mentioned) their "primitive hunter-gatherer society". What ignorant *****. For the most part it was about assimilating Aborigines into white society - forcefully if necessary. These people survived and thrived for over 40,000 years before white people arrived in 1788 bringing alcohol, disease, thousands upon thousand of criminal slaves, squatters who'd just set up wherever they wanted and kill any blacks that came near them and, of course, their superior white mentality, which was the main thrust for removing so many tens of thousands of black kids not just from their parents, but from their entire communities and their culture. "We know better than you primitive blacks, give us your children and now remember to ***** thank us for saving them". By that rationale, you unsorry, Andrew Bolt-loving ignoramuses would obviously be OK if a 'superior' race descended from space and to 'liberate' your children from this primitive, Earth-bound society with all its ridiculous habits and superstitions. Oh, you wouldn't? You'd fight like a wild animal to keep your children with you because you know you're perfectly capable to raise them? Of course you would. Grow a ***** brain.

    I'm sorry all those kids were taken from their families - not because I DID IT, you idiots - I'm just sorry it happened. No guilt. Just a recognition of the unimaginable agony that the policy would have caused to parents, kids and everyone else.
    • stabbingkittens, on 02/15/2008, -2/+3There's no convincing these lunatics mate, it's so frustrating but at least some of us have a clue. Digg me down you naive pricks. You're children's children will gag in disgust at your primitive attitudes in the same way that we do at those who separated blacks from whites.
  • protodon, on 02/15/2008, -6/+3Ancestors apologizing to ancestors is completely unnecessary. That's like my great grandchild apologizing to my friend's great grandchild because 150 years ago, I punched him in the eye over something. They shouldn't be involved.
    • metalspud, on 02/15/2008, -0/+3This happened up to 1970, many of the stolen generation are still alive. Educate yourself.
  • SabrinaHeaven, on 02/15/2008, -3/+3What were they supposed to do? Make friends? When civilizations clash, somebody has to lose. Never forget, we've got a lot of progress left to go! We can't afford to treat lesser cultures like endangered species. There's no room on this planet for human zoos.
    • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1said perfectly, in the current state of global warming and drought how do u think they would fair given 20 years from now if we had "left them how they had been living for 40,000 year"
  • somnambulator, on 02/15/2008, -1/+6The problem, as far as I can see, goes back to the moment the English set foot in Australia.
    We can't undo that first step.
    We, the English, by being more aggressive, imposed our culture on everything we touched. All the problems that the Aboriginals have endured have stemmed from that. All the do-gooders, the politicians, the 'experts' who believed Aboriginals were inferior, the alcoholism, and we the English, taking kids to be brought up 'normally'.
    There isn't a particular 'wrong' that is more wrong that the rest, it was all wrong, but it was all done according to the prevailing attitudes of the day, it wasn't wrong then, it's only wrong now.
    The reason I'm writing this is because, at the same time, kids from orphanages and poor-houses in England and Malta were being shipped to Australia to have 'a better life', with catastrophic results.

    Quote from BBC:
    They were sent to populate a nation with what was called at the time "good white stock".
    They were also the unwilling contestants in a competition between religious faiths to boost their numbers.
    Parents weren't told the truth. Their children lost their real identities and were told they were orphans going on holiday to a place where the sun always shines.The policy was endorsed by Government of the day.
    It was cheaper to send children to Australia than care for them on British soil. It cost £5 a day to care in the UK but only 10 shillings in Australian institutions.
    Those who suffered the harshest treatment were the boys sent to Bindoon, an isolated institution north of Perth.
    The Catholic Christian Brothers ran it. Children built it. British children were forced to do hard labour until they were 16-years-old.
    Some of them had unimaginable abuse inflicted on them.
    The practice continued until 1967 when it was stopped. -End Quote

    Why do these people not get an apology? why are they different from the indigenous people who have suffered at the hands of previous governments?
    If you are going to apologize for previous wrongs, start writing that list, it might take a while.
  • andymate, on 02/15/2008, -3/+2So for every other child (Caucasian, Asian, Negro etc) that was taken from their family for reasons relating to poor parenting (Excessive Drinking, abusing kids), poor hygiene and sexual assault, should we say sorry to them?

    The Aboriginal people already have got enough off Australia in the form of welfare, special aboriginal centres and libraries and extra health benefits just to name a few. Now they want more compensation, its time to say "No, no more compensation" and not "i'm sorry for something my grandparents generation did". This issue is not about sorry, its about how much compensation can be gained.

    p.s. There are Aboriginals from the stolen generation who think they are better off that they were placed in a white family.....
  • dstz, on 02/15/2008, -2/+5"I had nothing to do with it"

    Just as Europeans like myself are still profiting from the colonization and the resource harvesting in poorer countries (which continues to this day) you guys invaded a people's land and still live on it after shattering it's original ecology. Of course we all have to do with it even if we can do little about it.
    • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+0well if thats the way were gonna call it then every one will eventually end up back in africa, because slowly but surely the expansions of humans throught this planet stemed from africa after invasion of each others territory by different tribes or races happened over and over and over and over
  • killq, on 02/15/2008, -2/+1...and you can have your land back. Oh wait, we are using it. Anyways, sorry. Our bad.
  • sajnikanth, on 02/15/2008, -2/+2That was heartfelt. It's your turn Japan...
    • Rulz1234, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2And america and isreal and china and mongolians and french and normans and saxons and .............. ***** the list is to long of people who still persecute indiginouse pr previouse existing ragimes or nations, wake up smell the flower the lesson should be Dont do it in futre not apologise for the past.
    • amoeba, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1List of war apology statements issued by Japan
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_s ...
  • Majhem, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2If we have set the standard, then I wonder if now its time for the Imperial Colonial Powers of old, and especially the Churches of the world to follow suit?
    For those confusing the issue here, Australians can hardly be blamed for colonising Australia.
    • zellis, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Although we do continue to reap the benefits...
  • stonedgeek, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Personally, I think the only reason this speech happened is because Howard wouldn't say sorry, the media made an issue of it, so all Rudd had to do to be Prime Minister is promise to apologize (and change the workplace agreement system).
    Indigenous poverty in Australia isn't a simple question with a simple answer. The government has been saying sorry to indigenous australians for a long time in the best way it knows how, by throwing billions of dollars of tax money at them every year. Despite this, most aborigines in Australia live in poverty (I think the official number is 72%). Just being sorry and giving away money isn't going to fix anything. In fact, given the point we are at now, it just makes everything so much worse. They don't have to work, so they don't. I wouldn't.
    If Australian aboriginals don't want to live in poverty, they have to make the effort to make their own lives better.
    It sucks that their land was stolen from them, but I doubt there is any land in the world that wasn't stolen from a culture that previously lived there. The natives who are here now might have even taken it from another culture that was here before them.
    • zellis, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1My impression is that the willingness of the Australian parliament to say sorry was a sort of test of whether or not Indigenous Australians were finally able to go forward with the expectation of fair treatment from the Australian government.

      "A chance to start afresh" is how I remember one Indigenous person describing the apology.
  • Spoomeister, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Someday, everyone will stop getting hung up on apologies for the past, and simply try to be decent human beings in the present.
  • caponumen, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Translation: Now that we have completely wiped out your 75,000 year old race from the face of the earth, we are here to say, we are sorry it took so long to do so, and no, you may not have a lolly pop, don't ask again......
  • s0ldad0, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0I in no way endorse how the Original Australians were treated by European settlers and later White Australians.
    For a part of history which I am personally too young to have been blamed for I offer also my sorrow.

    However, now that the Australian Government has "admitted fault" you watch the lawsuits come rolling in.
    Bookmark my comment...I give it 12 weeks.

    PS I am Australian and know what I am talking about on this one.
  • Toallpointswest, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Well now that Australia has stepped up and apologized for their past wrongs, when will the US government step up and apologize for Slavery? *hears crickets*
    • 140Suffolk, on 02/18/2008, -0/+0The US government was the ONLY government on earth to go to war with itself to end slavery.
      On the other hand, there is STILL slavery in parts of Africa. Especially the Islamic parts.
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