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| home | news l'Sorry' book launch: what they saidOUTSIDE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION, LONDON,26 MARCH 1998 - ENIAR media release - "I must sign the Sorry Book, just as every other Australian who cares must sign the Sorry Book, because Aborigines and all other peoples need to know that PM John Howard does not speak for white Australians. He thinks Aborigine-bashing will make him popular - we have to prove that he could not be more wrong. The little we have done to redress the great wrong done to the Aborigines must be built on, and quickly, if white Australians are not to become the outcasts of the world." "Its not easy to shake Aussies from their 'She'll be right mate' cocoon. Usually, it takes a good cyclone or a bush fire to get Aussies to come together in mass compassion. The Sorry Book, however, is having the same effect."
"I'm sad to stand outside Australia House and know that virtually no-one in that building is allowed to sign the Sorry Book. I'm very disappointed. Shame, shame, shame, Australia. Shame, shame, shame, Mr Blewett." "By their actions, my family were part of the English settler encroachment that progressively stole a whole continent, destroying in the process, the ancient, sacred culture of the original, indigenous Australians." "Nothing can alter the past. But…admission of the wrongs done can, perhaps, be the beginning of reconciliation between Australians of all races, leading to the long overdue settlement of the just demands of the Aboriginal people for full land rights and compensation." "We need to ask ourselves if our children will have to come here to apologise in 20 years time for what we still can't get right today."
Text from the 'Sorry Book' You can use the 'Sorry Book' to record your own apology or to sign the following one: By signing my name in this book, I record my deep regret for the injustices suffered by Indigenous Australians as a result of European settlement and, in particular, I offer my personal apology for the hurt and harm caused by the forced removal of children from their families and for the effect of Government policy on the human dignity and spirit of Indigenous Australians. I would also like to record my desire for Reconciliation and for a better future for all our peoples. I make a commitment to a united Australia which respects this land of ours, values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, and provides justice and equity for all. related links:
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