RUDD SAYS "SORRY" TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 000126

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI AS
SUBJECT: RUDD SAYS "SORRY" TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS

REF: 07 CANBERRA 956


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The House of Representatives passed a
motion February 13 apologizing for the treatment of
indigenous Australians, particularly the "Stolen Generations"
- which refers to the Aboriginal children who were taken from
their families by white Australia between 1910 and 1970.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who proposed the motion) and
Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson made impassioned speeches in
support of the apology which elicited standing ovations at
their conclusions. The motion then passed unanimously. Much
anticipated, the apology was telecast live on television, and
shown on outdoor screens throughout Australia. Although a
tiny number of Coalition MPs abstained from the vote, there
was bi-partisan support for this apology. There is no
widespread public support for the payment of compensation to
the Stolen Generations, which some in the indigenous
community have also called for. END SUMMARY

THE APOLOGY


2. (U) The text of the apology is as follows:

"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.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in
the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and
laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices
of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all
Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap
that lies between us in life expectancy, educational
achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to
enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual
responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are
truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an
equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of
this great country, Australia."

GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION APOLOGIES


3. (U) Immediately after reading the apology, the Prime

CANBERRA 00000126 002 OF 002


Minister said: "Universal human decency demands that the
nation steps forward to right a historical wrong." He also
said that "symbolism needed to be accompanied by greater
substance" to improve indigenous outcomes areas such as life
expectancy, education and employment. Rudd received a
standing ovation from the largely indigenous audience
present, almost all of whom were invited by the Government.
All of Australia's living former Prime Ministers - Whitlam,
Fraser, Hawke and Keating - were present, with the notable
exception of John Howard, who had refused to issue an apology
during his 11 years in power. Opposition Leader Nelson,
while supporting the motion, was not as apologetic as Rudd.
He expressed regret at the suffering caused by policies
"mostly done with the best intentions" and said "our
generation does not own these actions, nor should they feel
guilty." He also praised the Howard Government's June 2007
intervention in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern
Territory (reftel).

THE STOLEN GENERATIONS


4. (U) This issue hit the political agenda in May 1997 when a
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity commission inquiry
(commissioned by the Keating Government) and entitled
"Bringing Them Home", reported that between 10 and 30 percent
of indigenous children were forcibly removed from their
families and communities between 1910 and 1970. Its
recommendations included an acknowledgment of responsibility
and apology from all Australian parliaments, police forces,
churches and other non-government agencies which had
implemented policies of forcible removal; guarantees against
repetition; restitution and rehabilitation; and monetary
compensation. Under the Howard Government the Federal
Parliament never agreed to a full apology but expressed "deep
and sincere regret" for unspecified past injustices in a
Motion of Reconciliation in August 1999. Over the last
decade, the Howard Government had been urged to say "sorry"
(a significant word in Aboriginal culture) by supporters of
an apology. This issue and the accuracy of "Bringing Them
Home" became part of the "culture wars" between the Left and
Right in Australian politics. The Australian Labor Party
(ALP) has consistently supported an apology. Rudd, however,
has ruled out a government compensation fund.

COMMENT: THE POLITICS


5. (SBU) Western Australian Liberal MPs Wilson Tuckey and Don
Randall - critics of the apology - were not in the Chamber.
Around Australia, the reaction of those watching the apology
and speeches was overwhelmingly positive but this is still a
potentially explosive issue. Treasurer Malcolm Turnbull lost
his leadership battle with Brendan Nelson partly because he
had stated publicly before the Liberal Party caucus vote that
he supported an apology to the Stolen Generations. While
welcoming the apology, some Aboriginal groups are pressing
the Government for monetary compensation and the scrapping of
the Government's intervention in the Northern Territory.
While public opinion favors the apology, it does not support
compensation or a winding back of the Northern Territory
intervention. If the political agenda were to turn to these
issues, public sympathy for the plight of indigenous
Australians would likely wane. Ironically, the centrist Rudd
has made a symbolic left-wing issue the priority for the
first week of Parliament. Most commentators partly attribute
Qfirst week of Parliament. Most commentators partly attribute
the Keating Government's defeat in 1996 to a perception among
blue collar, socially conservative Australians (called
"Howard's Battlers" and now known as Rudd's "working
families") that the Government gave too much attention to the
left-wing Aboriginal agenda. With inflation and interest
rates rising, Rudd needs to handle this issue very carefully.

MCCALLUM