We should have said sorry: Abbott

[Matilda]

"Opposition spokesman for Indigenous affairs, Tony Abbott, has admitted publicly for the first time that the Coalition made a mistake by refusing to apologise to Australia's Indigenous population.

snip

"Addressing a social services forum in Sydney, Mr Abbott was applauded when he publicly admitted the Coalition should have said sorry while in government.

It was a mistake for us not to apologise to Aboriginal people," he said as the crowd applauded."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/03/2534304.htm


Of course it was a mistake. To their credit, there were some Coalition MPs who publicly supported the "Sorry"
campaign, but most of them kept silent and stayed in lockstep behind Howard.

John Howard missed two great opportunities to go down in the history books as a true leader: one was in not moving
to have Australia declared a republic; the other was in not leading the nation in saying "sorry".

[Esra Star]

1. I think, in the end, John Howard was the only one who didn't

want to say sorry. His sycophants just followed him into the cave.
He rationalised it by saying it would open up undefendable compensation cases.
I notice that there have been mumblings of compensation coming from some people, but
I think nearly all indigenous people have moved on.
Kev did the sorry with so much gravitas. I don't think that will be diminished ever.
Now where are we up to with the "intervention". We need a report card.

[keitai]

2. Howard said he was going to take care of reconciliation....

after the 98 or 2001 elections but did so to sound like he had a scrap of a social conscience. This is no more than Abbott trying to do the same, well after the siren blowing.

[gemini_liberal]

3. Awww Tony, you're such a benevolent politician

this totally rids me of any thought of you being a mere has-been of the Howard era who's ultra-conservative politics contributed to 11 years of draconian tyranny.

You definitely represent the future of this country now!










...not!