Besides that from a couple of the 'Usual Suspects' who are instantly recognisable by their outpourings of venom and bile, the posts have been informative and constructive. I divide the issue into 3 sections,
The past, the present and the future.
As a society, and as a nation it is important for Australia to understand what happened in the past, what the situation is at present, and what steps can be taken for the future. If we deny the past, and are judgmental about the present, then the chances for many Aboriginal people to secure a decent future are negligible. We are not going to get total bipartisan agreement on any of those things, but we must do our best. The well documented wounds of the past needed to be recognised, and the Rudd apology was an important step to achieving reconciliation between Australia the nation, and its indigenous people.
At present many Aboriginal people continue to suffer from marginalisation, poor self esteem, lack of opportunity, and all the other consequential effects of being disadvantaged.
The difficulty for the future is how does Australia overcome the problems of the present and allow Aboriginal people to obtain equality in every regard within Australian society, whilst maintaining their culture and traditions as a people. The most important participants in the future of Aboriginal people are Aboriginal people themselves, but they can not achieve a worthwhile future along, it requires the assistance of a great many people both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal.
If I have learned but one thing from my Maori partner, and her indigenous people, they are not the future and they are not (so)important, the tamariki (children) and what happens to them in the future is what is important.

Please stop calling aboriginal people the "first Australians". We don't know much about Australia's history before 1788, but it is quite possible that Australia was inhabited by another people when the first aborigines arrived. In addition, first Maoris definitely invaded New Zealand.

I don't say this out of malice, I just wish that this part of Australian history was better understood.

their outpourings of venom
Paul1405,
Why is it that you can be so shallow & call decades of personal experience, knowledge & insight, outpourings of venom. I put it to you that your posts on this subject are outpourings of extreme ignorance, blindness & utter shallowness.
I challenge you to work for three years in an indigenous community governed by Labor supporting bureaucrats & then come back & express your views. I guarantee you'd be doing 180's all round.
There is an immeasurable difference between what the leftie bureaucrats tell you in the Media & to what's really going on. If you cared to find out you'd be too ashamed to call yourself a leftie. That's another guarantee.

Dear SteeleRedux,

I want to add my Thanks for your last post
and for sharing your experience concerning the
apology with us. It was a momentous moment for
so many people. The historian, Henry Reynolds,
pointed out the observation that many Australians
felt that they had been poorly served by their
teachers and by the nation's historians. They
weren't told the truth about the past and felt they
were denied information,, interpretation, and
understanding.

However it is now possible to explore the past by
means of large numbers of books, articles, films,
novels, songs and paintings. Many voices have now
filled out the space once claimed as the "Great
Australian Silence."

But as Henry Reynolds tell us we can know a great
deal about the history of Indigenous-Settler relations.
But knowing brings burdens which can be shirked by
those living in ignorance. With knowledge the question is
no longer what we know but what we are not to do, and
that is a much harder matter to deal with. As Reynolds
says - it will continue to perplex us for many years to
come.

Dear Poirot,

As always your input is greatly appreciated.

Well Indi,

As a long time resident of inner Sydney which has one of the largest Aboriginal communities in Australia, I do indeed have personal knowledge of Aboriginal people and their lives, in fact I have some Aboriginal blood myself, stemming from relatives on my mothers side, which is neither here nor there in this discussion. Some of those inner city Aboriginals are friends to both myself and my partner, we were recently invited to a 21st for the daughter of one of those friends. Many of the bands we like to see are well attended by Islanders, Maori's, a few Aboriginals and us "Europeans". My partner has a great interest in all indigenous cultures and has done much to learn first hand about the indigenous cultures that exists around the Pacific including Australia. We spend a lot of time traveling and find many indigenous people have similar issues, the greatest issue for many has been their dispossession from the land.
I am no more an expert on this matter than you are.

Dear Paul,

The historian Henry Reynolds has made several
observations that are worth noting. He points
out that the educational standards of the
young people are far higher than those of their
parents who grew up on remote settlements or
cattle stations. They have had longer and better
schooling. Hundreds of Indigenous students from
all over North Queensland have passed successfully
through university and colleges. Many local
Indigenous organisations - schools, medical and
legal services, a media company and radio station,
housing cooperatives, cultural societies - have
sprung up in the last generations. Some have failed
amid accusations of incompetence and mismanagement, but
others have been highly successful and have provided
invaluable experience in leadership and administration.

Young Aborigines and Islanders often say that nothing
has changed over the last several decades. That things
are as bad as ever. However, Reynolds points out that
this undersells both the achievements of their own
community and the policies pursued by local, state and
national goivernments. Their impatience and
frustration is in itself a sign of change. They are far
less resigned and submissive than their parents'
generation. They know no deference. They are self-confident,
assured, and politically aware, and won't be pushed
around or patronised by anyone.

Reynolds can remember political meetings he attended over
thirty years ago where not a single Indigenous person
could be persuaded to stand up and speak in public.

Nowadays articulate and forceful orators abound. They know all
the ways in which to command an audience. It is the tentative,
anxious Whites today who are now uncertain about speaking
and afraid of giving offence. And that is n good thing - as
we saw on the "Q and A," program on Monday night.
There is hope in the future.