Monday, 10 April, 2000
PM must restate commitment to
reconciliation
IF THE Prime Minister is sincere about
reconciliation, he needs to do two things.
Firstly, call a press conference, restate his
commitment to the nation and encourage all
Australians to join his government in reconciling with
indigenous Australians.
Secondly, to demonstrate his sincerity, he should
ask Senator Herron to stand down from the
Indigenous Affairs portfolio and let the party choose
a member who has the compassion and heart to
work with and for Aborigines and Torres Strait
Islanders.
If he cannot do this, he should reconsider his
attendance at Corroboree 2000.
Reconciliation and the human rights of indigenous
Australians can only be progressed and
strengthened with leadership from the highest
public office in Australia.
AUDREY NGINGALI KINNEAR
Hughes
Audrey Kinnear is a member of the stolen
generations and co-chairwoman of the National
Sorry Day Committee
PM shows hypocrisy
SO THE Prime Minister is reluctant to acknowledge that present day
Australians should feel any shame for the actions of our forebears.
Back in 1996 a peace park was to be built in Canberra with the help of
the Japanese city of Nara. John Howard successfully opposed this
park on the grounds the Japanese Government had not shown
enough contrition for World War II. In the PM's eyes, Australia bares
no responsibility for its abuse of the rights of Aboriginal people,
which
occurred as late as the 1960s, yet the Japanese must continue to
wear the black arm band for crimes a previous government committed
in the 1940s. Most of Australia's murders were a few decades further
back. However, the Japanese State surrendered unconditionally and
was replaced by institutions set up by the victors. Australia's
institutions remain basically the same. This makes me feel
uncomfortable, especially when we are urged to glory in the feats of
the Anzacs but not to take any responsibility for the stolen
generations.
NOEL RYAN
Dee Why, NSW
'Generation' not literal
SENATOR HERRON'S latest offering is, at first glance, not
unreasonable in its premises, however, when dealing with such an
emotive subject one needs to be sympathetic to the victims. In this
case it would seem the word ' generation' is the sticking point. True,
the fact of the matter is that the ' stolen generation' was not a
generation per se. Yet does this matter, as neither were the ' lost
generation' or ' generation X' ? The facts are simple: an estimated 10
to 30 per cent of Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their
parents, a horrible indictment upon our society no matter what the
intentions may have been during those misguided days of assimilation
policies. The simple, glaring fact that so many children were taken
away from their parents should be enough for government officials to
realise this was truly a tragedy on a grand scale and therefore needs
action to redress this regrettable wrong.
JAMES MONTGOMERY
Charnwood
Intention of stolen generations report clear
MESSRS Howard and Herron have apologised after the reaction to a
government paper claiming there never was a stolen generation,
claiming it was never their intention to cause hurt ('I'm sorry for
hurt,
says PM' , CT, April 7, p.1). Nobody familiar with the degree of
careful
wordsmithing, editing and re-editing which goes into official
government pronouncements could give this assertion the slightest
credence. What emerges is invariably exactly what is intended to
emerge. Unless, of course, standards have slipped somewhat since
the Public Service has been decimated (although, of course, since
less than 100 per cent of public servants have been excised, there
haven't really been any cuts to the Public Service, have there?).
BOB STEEGE
Charnwood
Language reveals Howard's mean spirit
IT IS ironic that the richness of the English language has shown the
poorness of spirit of our Prime Minister as he ducks and weaves
through his thesaurus to find alternatives to the word 'sorry'. And now
he compounds this paucity by reducing the richly moving phrase '
stolen generations' to sterile statistics. Well, sir, I hope soon to be
referring to you as a polygon!
ANN DARBYSHIRE
Pialligo
Ruxton ignores soldiers
BRUCE RUXTON'S diatribe shows he is more concerned with the
Liberal Party platform than the RSL's Aboriginal soldiers who, as part
of Interfet, have been patrolling the hills of East Timor as members of
our infantry battalions. They have been giving to the East Timorese
the protection espoused by the United Nations. The same rights are
denied these soldiers within Australia by bigots such as Ruxton,
Howard and Herron.
PETER HARRIS
Sutherland, NSW
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Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti
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