This is a very good article, which aligns legality and morality with respect to this central issue in a refreshingly incisive analysis.

The ensuing commentary is of course polarised, but has also been (also refreshingly) quite civil thus far.

It seems to me that much of the apparent angst that some are expressing is largely attributable to the apology being to the Stolen Generations, rather than to Indigenous Australian people generally for the "sorry" history of dispossession, neglect, racism and, indeed, genocide upon which contemporary Australia was built over the past two centuries or so.

As I have expressed elsewhere in this forum, everybody who currently lives in Australia does so by virtue of the expropriation of Aboriginal land and the destruction of their way of life. Our more recent arrivals who have said they have nothing to be sorry for seem to be deliberately misconstruing what "Sorry" means in this context.

Have any of you denialists actually read the "Bringing Them Home" report?

As I understand it, in Aboriginal vernacular the word "sorry" denotes more than simple apology, and extends to empathy with the wronged or unfortunate person to whom it is expressed. This is, of course why that word is insisted upon by all Indigenous spokespeople at the moment.

When are aboriginal Australians going to say sorry for their drunkeness, criminal behaviour, rancid clothing and hygene, racism towards white people, being on the doll etc.?
Also, I think the government of Denmark should say sorry for the Viking invasions.

Faustino, I think you greatly overestimate Windschuttle's credibility on Aboriginal issues. I have read his "The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Part 1 Tasmania" and found it jaundiced, bombastic and mistake-ridden. I don't know much Tasmanian history , but I managed to find a few errors in his work myself (eg relating to the career of Musquito). Ironic, given Windschuttle's derision for anyone else who makes a mistake (ie comes to a different conclusion to Windschuttle). Look here http://quadrant.org.au/php/archive_details_list.php?article_id=252 for just one critique of one part of his work.

I look forward to perusing his new book, paying very close attention to his footnotes (though I certainly won't buy a copy).

The good part about the federal govt saying sorry is that we will all be able to now see if in fact the daily lives of aboriginals actually improves because of it. My guess is that no amount or either 'sorry' or monetary compensation will make any difference whatsoever to improve the important parts of the lives of aboriginals. I make that observation based on watching state and federal govertments shovelling money into aboriginal communbities for 47 years. I sincerely hope i'm wrong.

Someone raised the question of how do you distinguish an aboriginal and mentioned genetics. On the basis of that line of thought, we are all Africans, as that is where Homo sapiens came from, and thus I want my African land back. Or someone in Africa owes me a load of back-rent.

Feeling sorry and saying sorry are two different things. You can feel sorry for a person to have been involved in an accident that you witnessed but you do not have to say sorry as if you were at fault.
The media broadcasted Senator Bob Brown making clear that financial compensation is still in the pipeline.
Perhaps he should pay for it with his fellow parliamentarians, after all his predecessors caused the rot.
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Aboriginals too are on the news making known they desire compensation!
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So, sorry is another word for “money” it seems!
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Lets make clear “half-cast” were not Aboriginals or Caucasian or Negro or Asian and so sorry to Aboriginals exclude them>?
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We had a prominent Aboriginal leader claiming for years to be of the “stolen generation” only finally to be exposed as a fraud.
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It is terrible for those who suffered injustice, regardless if they are black, white, brown, yellow, etc, in colour.
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“Stolen” implies against the law, where as Russell Marks himself implies it was done by legislation. That is to me “forcefully removing children”.
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I have no issue with those who were wronged to be compensated by Court verdicts, but not wasting taxpayers monies on "would-be" “stolen generations” persons who never where.
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Current rape, murder, assaults, etc, are generally of their own makings and not related to so called “stolen generation”, no money in the world will resolve that!
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As like the 1967 referendum it is a big con-job where those who really suffered more then likely are ignored.