Sorry
One of Kevin Rudd’s promises during the election campaign was to say “sorry” to the Stolen Generation. He’s going to do it next Wednesday, when the new government sits for the first time. This is an historic moment that is sure to help bridge the modern, multi-generational rift between whites and the aboriginal peoples of Australia. I say “modern” because it is only after we have moved beyond the colonial mindset that we have even been able to perceive the problem as a problem. But multi-generational shouldn’t be conceived of as ignoring the pre-Federation centuries, and modern shouldn’t be thought to have coincided only with the post-Federation decades up through the nineteen-forties. In fact, the policies that led to the Stolen Generation persisted well into the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.

But the now-opposition LNP persist in failing to understand the need for us to say and for aborigines to hear “sorry”. They insist on knowing the precise wording for the apology before committing to standing with Labor in offering it. Well, the option exists for Labor to apologize on behalf of the government, rather than the Parliament, which would be, perhaps, sufficient, but still a shame. We could have a national healing moment and a national commitment to improving the lives of the most damaged, most vulnerable, most disadvantaged among us, or we could have the commitment of the sitting government, for its term of office, to address the problems of the aboriginal communities. This is Howard’s final legacy to the party he led. This is Howard’s shame, and now Brendan Nelson perpetuates it. By doing so, should the Coalition fail to join in, the LNP condemns its present members along with the Howard government, and along with all its constituents, to the ash heap of history.