EDLA309/369

Te xt One : Not hi ng t o Say Sorry For by Anne Davi e s

JOHN HOWARD has defended his decision not to apologise to indigenous
Australians during his 11 years in power and rejected suggestions that his views
on this issue and the Kyoto Protocol cost his party the election last year.

Despite his Liberal Party colleagues endorsing the official apology last month, a
defiant Mr Howard gave a take-no-prisoners assessment of it during a
question-and-answer session with students at the Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard yesterday.

"I do not believe, as a matter of principle, that one generation can accept
responsibility for the acts of an earlier generation. I don't accept that as a
matter of principle," the former prime minister said.
"In some cases, children were wrongly removed; in other cases, they were
removed for good reason; in other cases, they were given up; and in other cases,
the judgment on the removal is obscure or difficult to make."

He also turned to what he said was the "broader issue": 20 or 30 years of failed
policies in relation to indigenous affairs.
"I think we persevered for too long with the notion of separate development. I
think the only way the indigenous people of Australia can get what we call a
fair go is for them to become part of the mainstream of the community and
get the benefits and opportunities available from mainstream Australian society,
whilst recognizing.... the particular and special place of the indigenous culture in
the life of the country."


Te xt Two: Apol ogy t o Aust ral i an I ndi ge nous Pe opl e s by
Ke vin Rudd
I move:
That 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.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's
history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with
confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments
that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow
Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants
and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up
of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a
proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received
in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.