never could i have imagined an apology of such feeling, sincerity and power. i have rarely felt as proud to be an australian as i did this morning during mr rudd's speech. i arrived at the office at 6.30am to make sure i'd be there in time to watch this historic moment and, in line with murphy's law, found that the tele didn't work and there was no-one else there to get it going for me. so, it was back to the computer to watch it live online. i managed to get the vision streaming from the abc website and sat back with a coffee to witness what i've been waiting many years to see. mr rudd's speech was wonderful and 11 years overdue. it dealt with the past in an appropriate and sympathetic manner and addressed the truth of what happened and the motives behind it.
to give dr nelson the benefit of the doubt, i felt his speech was ill-considered and showed a grave lack of judgement. naturally many will be far more harsh and less forgiving in their assessment. there's no doubt he was under pressure from the redneck elements in his party to justify what happened but all he did was illuminate and magnify the stain on the soul of the liberal party. i should have guessed his speech wouldn't be a pinacle of statesmanship from his visible unease when mr rudd proposed putting aside partisan politics and having the government and opposition join together to introduce sustainable, bilateral policies that will benefit our aboriginal countrymen.
what was completely predictable was the disgraceful behaviour of wilson tuckey in boycotting the apology. in doing so, he demonstrated perfectly just how out of touch he is with modern australia. also predictable, and incredibly sad, was the absence of john howard from parliament house. he was the only living former prime minister not to attend today and i believe history will not be kind to him for this display of petulance.
yes, there were some negatives, but they were merely asides to what was a moving and wonderful day.
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3 comments:
Don't you think it seems like a faux momentum?
i think it's an occasion with potential. just how that potential is realised will depend largely on the will of today's politicians and the australian people. occasions in the past, such as the referendum, the 'bringing them home' report, and even the high court's 'mabo' and 'wik' decisions were all occasions that could have marked a turning point but the chance was lost.
this has great potential as it provides some sort of closure for many of the people involved. i really hope our nation can start to heal and that real changes occur within my lifetime.
I think that liberal ideal is steeped in the past, and therefore it is anachronistic. (I explained on my blog).
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