apology

At last.

An apology. You could - and I would - argue that the theft of the Stolen Generations is only a small part of the indignities, abuse and discrimination against the indigenous people of this country; the stolen continent itself is the elephant in the room.

But it would be churlish not to give credit to Kevin Rudd for his speech today, which had perhaps more impact from his bare-bones, unassuming delivery than if a more charismatic politician had said it. Today is a day of profound emotional release, and, as he rightly pointed out, only the beginning of a process of reconciliation. As a newcomer to Australia, noticing the way otherwise lovely people would have the most outrageously racist things to say - completely casually - about Aborigines, that they would not dream of saying about other racial groups, I have felt for a long time that it is the suspension of normal ethics required to accept the racist status quo, that put a mean and callous edge on an otherwise generous and friendly country. Surely there must be something wrong with them, goes the implicit logic, for us to have treated them like this - we’re decent people aren’t we?

It is this reactionary constituency to whom the vacillations of the Liberals, torn between redeeming some morality (Malcolm Turnbull) and clinging to their chauvenism (Tony Abbot), give voice. Their various suggestions that the apology be given only if it is guaranteed acceptance, or be used to strengthen the case for continuing Howard’s election-eve burst of paternalistic opportunism, the intervention in the Northern Territories, are both childish and despicable. That mainstream politicians are representing these attitudes is lamentable; that they are now a parliamentary minority is, in part, a repudiation of these ideas by the public. Today’s apology is that change writ large; although it does not seem so large from outside Australia, where the fact that compensation is out of the question by consensus in both main parties, seems odd. But seen from within, something is certainly better than nothing.

It would be unwise to overstate the likely effect of this public statement - attitudes do not change in the blink of an eye, but perhaps this could be the beginning of a healing process. Perhaps the “fair go” can begin to mean something. We will look back at this moment for a long time to come.