I'll make this my only post on this thread as it's an issue I'm emotive about and involved in daily in my work. I have read, studied and worked extensively in this area. I don't want to get into an online argument about it.
This is, obviously, my opinion only.
This is an historic and positive day for Australia. It's a first step - and the next ones will be more important and less ceremonial for sure. A recognition that we, as a nation and as governments, got it wrong. It's not just about why indigenous Australians were taken from their families, but about how they were treated in the steps afterwards. Again and like today, the next steps are the important ones. This is something the likes of Neil Mitchell are failing to see and is evident in his rants on Sunrise this morning. I'm often not a fan of Marion Scrymgour (NT Deputy Chief and Indig Affairs Minister) but as she put it, "There was no return roadmap for any of the Stolen Generations.". There was no plan to heal the families, but a systematic and legislated attempt to wipe out a race within 5-6 generations. The plan was total and permanent disconnection. That does damage to individuals, families, communities and society. It breeds disadvantage.
As for the word "sorry", we need to take a step back from our own definitions. "Whitefellas" see sorry as an admission of guilt, usually followed by retibution of some sort. In my opinion, this is why so many white Australians are unnecessarily pre-occupied with compensation, when any such claims will barely affect them personally at all. "Blackfellas" have a somewhat different view, where the word "sorry" recognises simply that something bad happened. As I've pointed out on the racial tolerance thread, we have funerals when somebody dies, they have "sorry business" to reflect the process of grieving and moving on. It's my fervent hope that this process, a process towards true reconciliation and the elimination of Aboriginal disadvatage, is not railroaded in the next step. It will be the responsibility of all Australians (particularly the parliament), regardless of indigenaiety, to ensure we direct conversations and policies towards futures where Aboriginal culture, history and societal place is seen as a valued and unique part of our own national identity. If we focus on the next step being about closing gaps on average ages at death, education, health and the bringing of opportunity to Aboriginal communities - and not just compensation - then we edge closer to reconciliation. To those who prefer to dwell on the compensation aspect, you yourselves keep that on the agenda and have a responsibility in contributing to the national conversation. Anyone who has sent the "I've got the heads up on Rudd's sorry speech ..." text message is doing just that and knows what I mean.
Apologies are not about what we say or how we say it. They are about how they are received. I applaud Rudd on clearly listening enough to the receivers to have this at the core of his speech. It's equally clear that Mr.Nelson missed that point with his comments about "good intentions" - and he wonders why his collaboration wasn't sought. It's a little like saying sorry to your sister for poking her in the eye because Mum told you to - and then mumbling that "she deserved it" when Mum wasn't listening. It makes anything else he said more hollow and insincere. He should have been savvy enough to realise this.
I hope that all the talk about whether or not we should say sorry can dissipate now. It has been done. The task of meaningfully tackling Aboriginal disadvantage is at hand and we've taken the first step in ensuring it isn't done by either white or black Australians - but both. For mine, that alone is worth celebrating. But we should never take our eyes off the road. There's a long way to go.
Just my 5c worth.
nly time will tell!
