The Australian government will take the historic step of offering a formal apology to Aborigines "as early as possible" in the new parliament, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said yesterday.
Center-left Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came to power in November, promising to foster reconciliation and reverse the previous conservative government's refusal to apologize for past injustices.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Macklin refused to confirm a report that the apology would be given at the opening of federal parliament on Feb. 12.
But she said an apology to Aborigines, including the so-called "stolen generation" taken from their families as children, was imminent.
"We do want to make the apology as early as possible in the new parliament, but we want to complete the consultations first," Macklin said.
Thousands of Aboriginal children, mostly of mixed descent, were taken from their parents over four decades up to the 1970s and adopted or put into foster care or institutions as part of an attempt to force assimilation.
Macklin refused to elaborate on what the apology would include, but said she was consulting widely and it was designed to be a "bridge to the future."
"What is important here is to do everything we can to really see this as a positive way forward for the nation," she said. "We want it to be above politics, we want to make it as positive as possible."
Macklin also dismissed criticism that a formal apology could lead to claims for financial compensation, saying all state governments had already issued apologies and had not suffered any legal ramifications as a result.
The government is opposed to establishing a national compensation fund although the state government of Tasmania last week approved millions of dollars in compensation for members of the "stolen generation."
The conservative opposition, which under former prime minister John Howard's leadership steadfastly refused to offer an apology, said the government should focus on addressing Aboriginal disadvantage as its first priority.
Indigenous Australians are the country's most disadvantaged group with significantly lower life expectancy than other citizens and many living in impoverished camps where unemployment, alcoholism and violence are rife.
"Whatever the attitude of Australians towards this generation apologizing for things done by earlier generations, you really have got to ask yourself is this the highest priority for the Australian parliament?" opposition leader Brendan Nelson said.
Helen Moran, who co-chairs the National Sorry Day Committee, said an apology was not about laying the blame for injustice at the feet of the Australian public.
"There is no need for blame or shame in regards to this," she told Sky News.
Co-chair of the Stolen Generations Alliance Christine King said members felt very emotional about the possibility of a national apology.
"The apology is about healing for us, but I speak to many non-indigenous Australians who say it's also important for them because what happened to stolen generations is part of the Australian story," she said in a statement.
Australia's original inhabitants were marginalized after the first British settlers arrived in 1788 and now number just 470,000 out of a total population of approximately 21 million.
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