Government Apologies
Formal apologies have been tabled and passed by the Commonwealth Government, as well as the state parliaments of Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania and the territory parliament of the Northern Territory. It may be that all states have done this because Senator Aden Ridgeway was quoted in 1999 as saying that "every State Parliament has passed an apology". Former Prime Minister John Howard issued a statement of regret but resolutely refused to issue a formal apology. He has been quoted many times as refusing to take a black armband view of history. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who succeeded Mr. Howard, tabled a formal apology on 13 February 2008, which was passed unanimously.
Read more about this topic: Bringing Them Home
Famous quotes containing the word government:
“We talk about a representative government; but what a monster of a government is that where the noblest faculties of the mind, and the whole heart, are not represented! A semihuman tiger or ox, stalking over the earth, with its heart taken out and the top of its brain shot away. Heroes have fought well on their stumps when their legs were shot off, but I never heard of any good done by such a government as that.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)