On February 13, 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised for the hurt caused by decades of state-sponsored treatment of indigenous Australians. The words "we say sorry" were uttered three times by Mr Rudd during the motion, which lasted only a few minutes.
The Aboriginal way of life has existed for thousands of years, yet from the Neolithic revolution to the Industrial revolution we have seen European society change it's ways ad-nauseum. What is accepted culture now was ludicrous to us (European descendants) only 50 years ago. It's no wonder the Aboriginals generally have a hassle fitting into our society, as it's constantly changing.
I personally believe that saying sorry was the honest thing to do. You can't fix a problem unless you acknowledge it first right? I imagine there will be a flood of compensation claims as a result of the apology, and if so I reckon we should pay in full. After all, we became rich by using their land, so why not give them a cut of the bounty.
I respect Aboriginals because they are skilled at bush-craft and they are incredibly tough bastards... I for one could not live in the desert for much longer than a few days without the type of skill and toughness that they possess.
Hear the speech here; http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/national/australia-says-sorry/main.htmlDownload a PDF file of the entire speech here; http://www.cavemanpower.com/images-uploads/kevin-rudd-sorry-to-aboriginals-speech.pdf
Reaction to the Prime Minister's apology in Canberra and Sydney.
Photos: Peter Rae, Jon Reid and Mark Graham.
