An apology soon?
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said that the government will apologise to Indigenous Australia’s Stolen Generations. It seems likely that this will happen when parliament resumes during the week beginning 11th February.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports today:
“The intention is to build this bridge of respect between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia,” Mr Rudd told the Seven network.
“(Then) we can get on with the business of closing the gap in terms of life expectancy, education levels and health levels between indigenous and non-indigenous communities.”
He reiterated a promise that no compensation fund would be established following the apology.
The Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has criticised the Prime Minister for making an apology a higher priority than economic issues.
Some people are cynical of the intended apology, including Neil of Ninglun’s Oz Politics Now who highlights three caveats in Rudd’s promise of an apology:
- will apologise to indigenous Australia’s stolen generations — not a blanket apology for dispossession at large?
- no compensation fund would be established following the apology
- individual Australians have the right to oppose the move, saying the apology was not coming from the non-indigenous citizens — it is an apology on behalf of the government for, presumably, earlier government actions or policies in relation to the stolen children, not an apology on behalf of the Australian people.
Just mentioning all that so we can be clear about what the government is in fact proposing, which is not quite the same thing that many of us have been discussing lately.
Some people will find it reassuring that the Government has consulted with the National Sorry Day Committee and the Stolen Generations Alliance about the apology.
More information
- [audio] Radio National: An apology, but no compensation - Australia Talks
- [press release] ANTaR: Rudd Government abandons Labor platform over Stolen Generations
- [info] Background information on the Stolen Generations
- [info] Reconciliation Australia: Frequently Asked Questions about the apology
Priscilla Brice-Weller is the Online Campaign Coordinator at ANTaR. Priscilla is a non-Indigenous contributor who posts links on current affairs, adding context to the other posts on this blog. Photo credit: Michael Efford.
