Broad Shoulders

I've told you before MP, Not on here, please! That handbag is very strategically placed. Let's leave it that way

craig_m67

Dude, the Rudd Govt. was elected by the majority of the Australian public. If you didn't vote Rudd, fair enough.. but that makes you a minority. You're entitled to your opinion of course - good luck with that.

(Everybody in Australia is required to vote, unlike the UK which had a voter turnout of only 62% in the 2005 general election)
(And 250 thousand is a quarter of a million?)

Molko1974

And they don't say thank you.

PeteY

Rudd got in because of work choices and an aging Howard. Nothing to do with the apology.

I don't mid the apology although I do find it a little shallow, especially in the light of how little the government and Australian people in general care about the original owners of this land.

WillBlack

Sorry, what do I have to thank you for?

MartinLuther

You still haven't apologised to me for your 'Label' spelling mishap

Siren & Brian

Dude, the KRudd government did not get elected by the majority of the Australian public. Check your facts.

ABCDiamond

ALP actually got 42.6% of the vote.
57.4% voted someone else in preference.

If you didn't vote Rudd, you were actually in the majority, not the minority.

And getting technical... 43,957 actually voted for Rudd in his electorate, 12,886,857 voted for other candidates of all parties

craig_m67

okay, my bad. sorry

fish.01

Don't know what 20 million you are referring to...certainly wasn't the people I know here in Brisbane.....I was elated when I heard about the march and so were a lot of my family and friends.

For the record I thought it was BLOODY FANTASTIC. I think the "something we did not do" is a cop out. Heaps of Australians alive who "have done" dodgy stuff to the Aboriginals, and some that still do.

As a nation we are getting better and better as we should do - and saying sorry was one step on this road. Everywhere I looked people were very happy it had been said....even saw tears for some people on that day....shame you felt differently....but on we march...

Saying this I feel the comments from some British people they are better at this stuff disappointing - a lot of us have lived there and we can see first hand that every country struggles with this....I know most British are balanced on this but the odd few just assume that British are on average less racist than Australians....guess that's what some of the media there has always told them so they arrive here with that prejudice already built in.

itigo

I personally think Telstra have it written in their staff handbook NOT to apologise as that admits they've cocked up.......We were ready to contact the TIO and get compensation for the debacle we had setting up our phone but they managed to connect us with hours to go before the compensation deadline - they are just canny at their business.

All I wanted was an apology (took weeks to get our phone connected and we are still in White Pages under the wrong address cos of their system) but none was forthcoming........ho hum.

PeteY

Sorry to Aboriginal people means diddly squat when it is not backed up with policy designed to help them. The sorry was to make white city folk feel better, and to appease the leaders of the aboriginal community.

Go to Palm Island, Mount Isa, Yarrabah, Nhulunbuy, Alice, or even some areas of Sydney, and ask if that sorry has helped.

Yes, I have a VERY dim view of Australia's aboriginal policy. I have been to many of these places involved, and can tell you that "sorry" didn't help one iota.

fish.01

Obviously Aboriginal people want policy designed to help them. That does not mean the sorry did not help as well. The happy Aboriginal people I saw on that day did not just look like community leaders to me. Of course Aboriginal people will not want just a sorry, they want both. There has decades of specific policy to try to help Aboriginal people....some of it has helped, a lot has not worked and more should have been done. I would hope that immigrants would add constructive positive ideas that they may have as it is obviously a very difficult policy area.

Evidence of failure cannot all be attributed to racism. Structural, cultural, historical racism, geographic and other issues come into play as well. Immigrants who just use the issue to try to make themselves feel superior don't seem like the type who will be bothered helping Aboriginals anyway....a lot of them seem more interested in getting a fuzzy superior glow for themselves rather than actually caring.

kar-kier

Back to the OP . . . I find that they never say sorry if they bump into you, you just get a dirty look!! I say sorry even when they bump into me. I also find that they don't get the whole 'buggy' thing - i.e. If i've said excuse me 3 times, i kinda need you to move so I can get the buggy through.

fish.01

I've found Australians on the whole apologise to me as much as anywhere...and they have friendly chats more often than some other places I have lived.