The Sydney Morning Herald Why there should be no apology Date: 10/05/2000 As the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation finalises its Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation, for release on May 27, there are increasing pleas from those mouthing moral platitudes for the Prime Minister, John Howard, to make an official apology for past injustices to Aborigines, but more particularly for the "stolen generations". However, an apology is not only inappropriate but would do nothing to improve either the welfare of Aborigines or the deteriorating relations between them and whites. The attempt to convey the impression that Howard alone is the obstacle to such an apology is equally astray: the majority of Australians are opposed. Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser is the latest to jump on the apology bandwagon with the claim that other countries, such as Canada, which have apologised are ahead of Australia in their treatment of indigenous peoples. Ironically, his claim follows an outcry in Canada at recent revelations of the sad and deteriorating plight of those in indigenous reserves. Fraser also appears to be unaware of recent evidence that undermines not only the case for an apology but the policies which he has been supporting, including when in government. He has no excuse for failing to do his homework. Evidence tested in proper courts clearly shows, for example, most Aboriginal children of mixed blood were removed by their parents and removals by the government of children were almost all with parental consent. The NSW test case comprehensively rejected the claim of someone described by Sir Ronald Wilson as a typical stolen child. His report, Bringing Them Home, has lost all credibility. Similarly, the granting of land rights to some Aborigines (though on a communal basis only) has created cultural and economic cul-de-sacs and has made them largely dependent on the dead-end of social welfare. The Reeves report on Northern Territory land rights (which Fraser was responsible for introducing) concluded that it has resulted in "hopelessness, despair, and anti-social behaviour, and contempt and hostility". The situation of these traditional communities has been compounded by the accompanying attempts to promote Aboriginal cultures, including languages. One result is that 80 per cent of Aboriginal children are illiterate, as revealed by the recent report on Northern Territory education by former Labor senator Bob Collins, who is married to an Aborigine. Surely it is more important to educate these children so that they have the opportunity of participating in Australian society, including by getting a job. What is important - a job or an apology? Further, policies that encourage separate development and focus on past injustices are major underlying causes of the absolutely horrific violence extant in Aboriginal communities, some of which seem to have descended almost into barbarism. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is doing nothing to address all this. Its draft declaration for reconciliation sought an apology for past injustices and accepted the outdated notion that Aboriginal wellbeing basically requires the recognition of Aboriginal land rights, Aboriginal culture and law, and Aboriginal autonomy. Reconciliation is in fact proceeding naturally over the course of time. Surely, the marriage (de facto or de jure) of nearly two-thirds of indigenous adults to non-indigenous spouses, and with more than 70 per cent of Aborigines living in urban communities and professing Christianity, is evidence enough of that process? For those Aborigines who are not participating in this process, instead of promoting the outdated concepts of separate development and past injustices, an entirely new approach is needed, one which reverses the separatist policies and rhetoric of past injustices and, instead, promotes closer Aboriginal involvement in the wider community. We should be encouraging the movement out of traditional communities and, in the meantime, restoring civil society within those communities by proper policing and ensuring proper education. The Howard Government is on the right track in providing additional resources but it must also address the underlying causes of poor Aboriginal welfare. Fraser says there are also matters of "the heart and the spirit". As a former minister for Aboriginal affairs, with deep concern for the long-term interests of Aborigines and relations between them and white Australians, my belief is that a genuine expression of the heart and spirit would lead both sides to forget the childish demands for apologies and blame attribution. We could then get on with overcoming the serious practical problems caused by the policies of successive governments. Peter Howson was minister for Aboriginal affairs in 1971 and 1972. 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