I don't have a problem with saying sorry for the "Stolen Generation", although the HREOC report "Bringing them home" appears to have exaggerated the actual facts of the matter.

But to limit an apology to such a problematic and minor part of the whole story of injustice to Australia's indigenous inhabitants seems to me to be perverse.

Particularly as the events on which it is premised are legitimately disputed and the legislation upon which they were based was passed with the best of intentions.

Yet on so many other events from colonisation to colour bars there can be no dispute, and they affect so many more indigenous than those affected by the "stolen generation". Dispossession and death are much more important and significant than forced removals, many of which could have occurred independently of race.

As I've said in various discussions in this forum, I largely agree with Graham. The apology to the Stolen Generations is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough.

However, I have to disagree with Graham's assertion that "the legislation upon which [the events of the Stolen Generations] were based was passed with the best of intentions". The removal of "half-caste" Aboriginal children was done with the express intention of 'breeding out' their Aboriginality while their "full-blood" relations died out, as was generally expected to happen.

The idea was to create a "White Australia", which can hardly be described as "the best of intentions".

As Malcolm Fraser told Kerry O'Brien on the 7.30 report: "I've seen the ordinances, I've seen the powers they've given the protectors and the way those powers could be delegated down to a patrol officer level, and the powers were massive.
They, in a sense, could dispose of Aboriginals in a way that nobody else in the whole community would have tolerated for one instant.

For example, certainly up to the late '40s, early 1950s there was a power to send, put it in inverted commas, "delinquent young Aboriginals" off to a place of detention without any trial, without any judgement, without any evidence, just if a policeman or a patrol officer says this man or woman is delinquent and needs to be put in a place of detention. That is absolute power over somebody. No judicial restraint but the law apparently allowed it. The issue was tackled on a racial basis.

Leave the full bloods alone, stop the half-bloods, mixed bloods being brought up in an Aboriginal environment, bring them up in a white environment.

The full bloods will ultimately disappear, the mixed bloods will be assimilated, will become more and more like white people, will know nothing of the history, language and culture of their Aboriginal background and thus the problem will be solved."

Malcolm Fraser further adds, "All the records are in Government files or in the archives. Now, if somebody is going to try and say to
Australians, "Look, what we were taught at school, what we understood of the past is not true, it was a different kind of past." Now, if a PM is prepared to say that and prepared to say,"Therefore, we must do this and this," that has enormous moral authority and I really believe that a PM who acted in that way in relation to this issue would strengthen his moral authority immeasurably."

It is not enough but it is a start, I have faith in Rudd we have not heard his words yet.
But we have seen todays opening of the 42nd Parliament.
I have heard his words about reform and believe he is fairdinkum.
I Hope in 50 years we look back to these two days with pride and know this country will be a far better place for these people tomorrow we take one step of a great many we must take.
I have been part of tens of welcome to country but today was just great truly why did we wait so long?

The whole concept of apologising for the past actions of our ancestors is ludicrous. Is anybody prepared to say sorry to the white children who were also taken from their families? I don't think so! This is clearly reverse racism.
The indigenous population of Australia have been given so much by the Government, perhaps this is from guilt, perhaps it is an attempt to permit them to better themselves. Either way, it hasn't worked and the indigenous population have taken these benefits for granted and squander what they are given. Not all of them of course but certainly the media is quick to portray those that do in a bad light.
When I was in school, I was extremely disillusioned to learn that I did not qualify for Austudy but I was entitled to claim Abstudy due to my Aboriginal heritage and yes, I am caucasian in appearance. I questioned why I could get Abstudy but failed to qualify for Austudy and nobody could answer my question but to say just take whatever the government wants to give you. From that point on I refused to accept anything the government wanted to give me because of my ancestry.
The whole concept of aboriginals being hard done by is a joke and so is the idea of apologising. Funny enough, they can claim discrimination yet they are entitled to so much more than caucasians. This is indeed the lucky country!

I would like to see us go through all of the old massacres for the sake of the aboriginal peoples and bring confession of sin before God.
It would take many curses of communities that curses exist upon, even curses in those communities that the present generation doesnt know about.
I met an old steam engine train driver in a small QLD country town back in the 1980's, he was about 80years old at the time, and he was saying he remembers his grandfather speaking about how farmers in the Hellidon region of QLD used to put strychnine out around the waterholes to get rid of the aborigines. Have you ever seen strychnine death? I did one many years ago in emergency services. Too shocking to describe. Thats one community that needs to make confession of sin on behalf of ancestors to take the rotten devil out of the area. Curses are genuine and spoken about all through the Bible.