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Symbolic

Entry 696, on 2008-02-13 at 18:28:27 (Rating 3, Politics)

I really like Australia and most Australians and I have visited Australia many times and it almost feels like its a second home. But there is one aspect of the country which makes me feel uncomfortable - that is the treatment of the Aboriginals.

The most disturbing example of this was a few years back when I visited an old missionary town called Hermannsburg which is in the middle of the central Australian desert. We had to lock ourselves into our motel unit and leave the petrol tank door of our rental open so that the locals could get easy access to petrol (for sniffing - this is a dry town). As it happened no one tried to break into our vehicle but the sounds of violence during the night were worrying.

I know that every country has its examples of mistreatment of one group (often the indigenous people) by others - we certainly have a few examples of injustices in New Zealand too - but Australia seems to be the only modern western country where things are still this bad.

The news which set off this story was, of course, the new Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, apologising for the "Aboriginal Stolen Generations". As far as I know there is still no offer of compensation for this incident, which occurred in the 1930s, but at least the apology is a start.

But is there really any point? What does an apology really achieve? Well, I know that the terrible standard of living, short life span, and rampant abuse in some Aboriginal communities will continue but a symbolic step is often a good start to making real progress. The previous prime minister refused to apologise during his 10 years in power and refused to attend the ceremony so it was clear what his attitude was on the subject. This apology shows the new leadership at least has a more reasonable attitude.

I think an admission of guilt is often a good starting point for solving a problem. I have often called on George Bush to admit the war in Iraq was a mistake. Until he could do that there was unlikely to be any progress on the issue. But, of course, that would never happen because his supporters believe they have the backing of God and that the world's "greatest country" can do no wrong. Dangerous stuff.

Yesterday I blogged about Barack Obama and how I hope he is successful in the US presidential elections. With Kevin Rudd replacing John Howard in Australia and Tony Blair gone from the UK I think the world is coming back to a more sensible standard of leadership.

People are going to look back on the late 90s and early 2000s and wonder "what were they thinking". Well, at least, I will be on record in this blog as rejecting the mindset that permeated the last 10 years. Bring on the revolution!

Comment 1 (1171) by Jim on 2008-02-19 at 20:09:18:

Do you have anything to say regarding the benefits the aborigines have got from the white Australians? Do you think the aborigines would prefer to be still living like they did before white settlement?

Comment 2 (1235) by Jim on 2008-03-02 at 19:55:54:

No comment on this OJB? Maybe this is a subject your socialist political stance can't deal with?

Comment 3 (1236) by OJB on 2008-03-03 at 08:28:30:

I agree that western culture has provided many benefits to the native people of the countries it has colonised, but that is no excuse to treat the indigenous people as less than human or to not give them a fair deal.

I find it annoying when the benefits of colonisation, western science, etc are ignored because of political correctness but when a well accepted grievance exists I think it should be acknowledged and corrected where practical.

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