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Yesterday, the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stood up in the Federal Parliament in Canberra and, speaking in its name, made a moving national apology to the indigenous peoples of Australia, “the oldest continuing cultures in human history.” He specifically apologised to the Stolen Generations, those Aboriginal or First Australian children who, born of liaisons between white men — mainly — and Aboriginal women, were forcibly moved from their A boriginal families to white-run state hostels, church institutions, and white family homes. This racist ‘assimilation’ lasted from 1910 to 1970. Most of the Stolen Generation, including Torres Strait Islanders, were sexually and otherwise abused for years; were forced into unskilled drudgery; received little or no education; and suffered severe permanent psychological damage. Unsurprisingly, government lawyers under Australia’s previous regime resisted the Stolen Generations’ claims for compensation, contending that the children were removed for their own good. Mr. Rudd deserves commendation for this significant act of moral justice and inclusive symbolism. His statement was preceded by an Ngambri ceremony welcoming Australia’s elected representatives ‘to country’ — a reminder that the very place where the Australian Parliament stands was stolen from its first inhabitants.

In contrast, Mr. Rudd’s predecessor, John Howard, refused even to acknowledge the wrongs done to First Australians since European explorers and colonisers landed on the Australian continent early in the 17th century. The crimes include genocide, the extermination of Tasmania’s indigenous people. Since then, the other Aborigines have been victims of brutal racism, neglect, and exploitation; there are huge discrepancies between the life expectancy, educational achievement, health, and employment prospects of white Australians and those of First Australians. Even in supporting the apology, the opposition leader Brendan Nelson provoked fury by saying that the present generation should not feel guilt for things done mainly with ‘the best intentions.’ Mr. Rudd, however, calls for a future which embraces all Australians. The issues go far beyond that of compensation for the Stolen Generations, worthy though that cause be. Australia as a nation will be immeasurably strengthened if it can demonstrate sustained political will and deliver justice and reconciliation to all First Australians — by ending racial discrimination in education, health care, criminal justice, and every other area of public life.

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