DesertFox
03-12-2008, 08:37 PM
FORMER prime minister John Howard has defended his decision not to say sorry to Australia's Aborigines during his 11 years in power and criticised the Rudd Government's apology to the stolen generations.
In a take-no-prisoners question and answer session with students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, Mr Howard said he did not believe that one generation could apologise for the actions of another, and, anyway, some children had been removed from their parents for good reason and others were given up voluntarily.
"I do not believe as a matter of principle that one generation can accept responsibility for the acts of earlier generations," he said. "In some cases, children were wrongly removed, in other cases they were removed for good reason, in other cases they were given up and in other cases, the judgement on the removal is obscure or difficult to make."
He said his view was shared by Noel Pearson of the Cape York Indigenous Council — a man whom he regarded as "the voice of contemporary indigenous Australia more than anybody else".
More (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/11/1205125911264.html)
In a take-no-prisoners question and answer session with students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, Mr Howard said he did not believe that one generation could apologise for the actions of another, and, anyway, some children had been removed from their parents for good reason and others were given up voluntarily.
"I do not believe as a matter of principle that one generation can accept responsibility for the acts of earlier generations," he said. "In some cases, children were wrongly removed, in other cases they were removed for good reason, in other cases they were given up and in other cases, the judgement on the removal is obscure or difficult to make."
He said his view was shared by Noel Pearson of the Cape York Indigenous Council — a man whom he regarded as "the voice of contemporary indigenous Australia more than anybody else".
More (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/11/1205125911264.html)