I attended Federation Square yesterday for the apology to the stolen generations. While standing among the thousands of others from all walks of life and backgrounds, I was struck by the ill-conceived phrase that has been thoughtlessly thrown around over the last decade: why should I say sorry? I didnt do anything. I realised that this statement is another reason an apology is so important.
It is true that the majority of Australians had nothing to do with the actual physical removal of children. It is also true that the majority of Australians have done nothing to help right the wrongs and lessen the repercussions resulting from children being taken from their families.
Maybe the statement should be rephrased to read: I am sorry because I didnt do anything.
John Howard has finally made his post election appearance. Maybe, not surprisingly, it just happened to be in Washington were he delivered the Irving Kristol lecture to the American Enterprise Institute. He condemned pulling back troupes from Iraq, called rolling back workchoices a mistake, praised Reagan and described Margaret Thatcher as ìthat other great warrior in our causeî.
Exactly whoís cause was Howard referring to? Surely not the cause of the Australian people as, everything he condemned the majority of us wanted and voiced our opinion at the ballot box. Are we to assume that for the last 11 years our Prime Minister has been fighting for a ìhigher causeî and we were just instruments in his long struggle? The more cynical of us may not be surprised at this question.
Itís a shame that John Howard will not face the Australian public after his election defeat, but then again, who can blame him. Everything seems to be going well with the new Government and our younger, more popular PM. His own party seems to be quietly denouncing everything that he fought so hard for (who that was actually for is neither here nor there).
By giving a speech in Washington he received a standing ovation and a rather attractive, personalised glass bowl which did wonders for his self esteem.
Unfortunately, itís not surprising the reaction Kevin Rudd received from the opposition whilst absent from a parliamentary sitting. Rather than making himself available for the kind of jocular outbursts we have come to expect from the sacred halls of federal parliament, he was visiting a NSW indigenous community and the flood-ravaged city of Mackay in Queensland.
In response to Rudd's no show, the federal opposition warned it will disrupt parliament again every Friday the house sits.
I may be a little premature in my thinking and I hope that iím not but it is very refreshing to have a Prime Minister who is actually on the ground seeing what is happening and hopefully acting on his experience rather than wasting our time and money arguing in Canberra.
Seeing as on Friday Canberra was filled with overpayed children doing cardboard cutouts at tax payers expense I am happy our PM was actually doing something useful.
What is the point in attending parliament if it descends into the circus we witnessed on Friday. We've had more than ten years of that and not surprisingly nothing was done.
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