I am Canadian born and raised however I have lived in Australia for most of my adult life. For the record I hold Australian citizenship and feel qualified to make the following statement. Following Wednesday's Sorry Day I feel like shouting from the rooftops that I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN. What a wonderful day for our First Nation people.

For us non- First Nation people, we will never fully understand the importance of the symbolic gesture of saying Sorry. Politics aside- it was a dignified apology. We all should feel proud.

Graham,
If it is – perverse– to winnow out the policies/practises surrounding the ‘stolen generation(s)’ to the exclusion of all other ‘wrongs’.

It is –doubly perverse– once having settled on the ‘stolen generation’ period as suitably symbolic/worthy, to then single out one group of many who were affected by such policies & practises, and market an exclusive apology for them.

[ perhaps some of those higher up the social conscience hierarchy of holy orders need write to Mr Rudd on behalf of non-Aboriginals who also had hearth & home violated and point out the (unintentional) slight.]

I too do not think we need say sorry for being here, in fact we started out better than many invaders if that is what some would call us.
Had a look at the polls this morning? even the ones I thought would be pro sorry are not.
We have work to do, we said sorry for our past and the past of our grand parents.
But now both sides must work toward a better future.
Yesterday after the speech I was soon bought back to earth as nearly 200 construction workers[ who did not hear the speech] said it was rubbish.
This included Aboriginals.
Yes I know I am a red neck and a racist, well thats what some say, but we need accountability and education for both sides now.
First song on my player today? from little things big things grow, may play it all day!

Palimpset and Belly, in apologising for the "Stolen Generation" we're apologising for something we on this forum didn't do, so I don't see why apologising for the colonisation and invasion of the country is any different, except that without it, none of the other things for which you might conceivably apologise could have happened.

Apologies ought to be about trying to achieve reconciliation, not about apportioning blame. It's about acknowledging hurt, even if there is no way that the hurt could have been avoided.

Sadly yesterday appeared to be about apportioning blame and the empathy appeared to only be flowing in the one direction. I don't think reconciliation is any closer as a result. Perhaps even further away.

If comments around the blogosphere and talkback radio are any indication, an awful lot of people believe the apology *did* go beyond the stolen generation. It's hard to tell whether they understand what was actually said and are just getting carried away, or whether they think Rudd was apologising for everything. Either way, the spirit of the thing did go beyond the stolen generation, even if the exact words did not.

As I've written on so many posts in this Forum -apologising is a sign of maturity, of a willingness to face mistakes that caused suffering. It heals divisions between people, shows a deepening understanding of the life of a nation and reflects humility and honesty.

The acknowledgement of guilt is not to be confused with personal guilt; rather, it acknowledges a historical responsibility. In the case of indigenous Australians, many of whom lost family, culture and tribe, it helps to soothe the anger and frustration of those who feel affected.

Yesterday's apology by the PM was a proud moment for the nation. But it will take generations to repair the ravages of past neglect and oppression. The size of the job to be done, the nature of the rehabilitation to be undertaken, means that many will not be restored to full dignity and health. They can expect at best only something of a job, something somewhat better as a home. But they can expect and should demand a better life as far as their children and especially, their children's children are concerned.

I believe the new Government will keep all of their promises - and
that includes righting the wrongs of the past as far as the indigenous
Australians are concerned -