An Overdue Apology from the Nation
An official Apology to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander had been postponed for 11 years after the inquiry into children removal report Bringing Them Home (1997) was released during the Howard Government (1996-2007). The report recommended for an apology as a first step to heal the wounds of victims because of human rights violations (Human Right and Equal Opportunity Commission 246). However, Prime Minister John Howard rejected to apologize for indigenous people on behalf of the nation and stressed that delivering a symbolic apology and letting Australians of this generation burden with the blame and a sense of national guilt would not facilitate successful reconciliation (Gunstone 80). Instead, he advocated …show more content…
Before moving forward to practical reconciliation, symbolically moral reconciliation is the base to help Indigenous Australians and Non-Indigenous transform former antagonists into mutual respect and trust (Murphy 65). Only non-Aboriginal Australians can sincerely recognize the past that “inflicted grief, suffering and loss” on Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, “our fellow Australians” (Rudd 1), it is possible to “build a bridge based on a real respect” (5) to eliminate the confrontation between Indigenous Australians and Non-Indigenous Australians. Then, all Australians in symbolic level could be able to achieve an equal status, moving forward to the future without a shadow and with a reciprocal …show more content…
Rudd mentions that Australians are not only “a passionate lot” but “a practical lot” (5), this new partnership has to been transformed into practical actions which would make the nation great and united. There are several concrete targets proposed in the speech to reduce the gap of educational achievement, life expectancy, infant mortality rates and work opportunities. Furthermore, the new partnership would abandon a top-down “one-size-fits-all approach” that was not working efficiently, adopting bottom-up approaches –“flexible, tailored and local” to achieve the objectives (Rudd 5). With the new mutual respect, mutual determination and mutual responsibility, all Australians could tackle the practical challenges together and embrace the future confidently
An official Apology to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander had been postponed for 11 years after the inquiry into children removal report Bringing Them Home (1997) was released during the Howard Government (1996-2007). The report recommended for an apology as a first step to heal the wounds of victims because of human rights violations (Human Right and Equal Opportunity Commission 246). However, Prime Minister John Howard rejected to apologize for indigenous people on behalf of the nation and stressed that delivering a symbolic apology and letting Australians of this generation burden with the blame and a sense of national guilt would not facilitate successful reconciliation (Gunstone 80). Instead, he advocated …show more content…
Before moving forward to practical reconciliation, symbolically moral reconciliation is the base to help Indigenous Australians and Non-Indigenous transform former antagonists into mutual respect and trust (Murphy 65). Only non-Aboriginal Australians can sincerely recognize the past that “inflicted grief, suffering and loss” on Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, “our fellow Australians” (Rudd 1), it is possible to “build a bridge based on a real respect” (5) to eliminate the confrontation between Indigenous Australians and Non-Indigenous Australians. Then, all Australians in symbolic level could be able to achieve an equal status, moving forward to the future without a shadow and with a reciprocal …show more content…
Rudd mentions that Australians are not only “a passionate lot” but “a practical lot” (5), this new partnership has to been transformed into practical actions which would make the nation great and united. There are several concrete targets proposed in the speech to reduce the gap of educational achievement, life expectancy, infant mortality rates and work opportunities. Furthermore, the new partnership would abandon a top-down “one-size-fits-all approach” that was not working efficiently, adopting bottom-up approaches –“flexible, tailored and local” to achieve the objectives (Rudd 5). With the new mutual respect, mutual determination and mutual responsibility, all Australians could tackle the practical challenges together and embrace the future confidently