—I move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.
There comes a time in the history of nations when their peoples must become fully reconciled to their past if they are to go forward with confidence to embrace their future. Our nation, Australia, has reached such a time. And that is why the parliament is today here assembled: to deal with this unfinished business of the nation, to remove a great stain from the nation’s soul and, in a true spirit of reconciliation, to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia.
Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister.
Constellations kept creeping in, down telesocped tunnels to remote places, remote times, happy days really, before his first suicide attempt, when collecting bottles down the road in our go-kart was a great adventure. In those days the beer bottles had dates stamped on their bottoms, and we made a collection dating back through the fifities, the forties, even ealier. There was a lot of good reason to be there, fronting up in our own lives. Children only, after all. My parents had built the house on an old reclaimed rubbish dump, because the land was cheap. The bush was overgrown with blackberries, and each season we collected them. Things bothered us, but much of the time the old man was away and we spent our time down at the dead end, our little gang, giggling, racing our carts down a steep concrete drive someone had started to build to their dream home, but had never finished.
The mysterious Mr Nobody, for that's who he insisted he was, and sometimes we even believed that really was his name, the mysterious Mr Nobody came out regularly to build his home in the bush; and we used to hang around and watch him, nothing better to do. And stand on top of the great sand stone rocks that lay scattered through the bush, shouting "I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascle". And exploring the mysterious sandstone caves etched out in the side of the hill. And one day running around with our pants down, which we thought was very daring but we didn't know why.
But mostly, because we either got no pocket money or 25 cents a week, meaning it took me, I remember so clearly, three and a half months to save to get a light on my bike. The bottles were a great source of income. Me and my brother Doug would trundle our cart up and down that winding, remote street, in those days the very edge of suburbia, knocking on people's doors and collecting bottles. Sometimes there would be just such excellent finds. People would have a whole collection of bottles at their back door, because they didn't know what to do with them, and we would pile them up and take them back to the house, and pile them up into huge piles in the front yard, before our father, when he was back from some trip, would take us down to the bottle depot and for a little while we would have real money in our pockets.
The sun shone and the kookaburras chortled in the high trees. The neighbours bred budgerigars in a huge cage and often they would go next door to watch them, to hang around. They gave us milk and biscuits; their own children had grown up and gone away. We spent a lot of time there. Our own parents didn't like pets and we loved the birds and the friendly words.
For a while I was in love with Barbara Mason, who lived right at the start of our winding street, down the bottom of the hill. Each Sunday our mother sent us to a different church, Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, until one day she found Herbert W
Armstrong on the radio and we became fundamentalists. Short skirts and rock music were direct paths to hell. Far far off the sixties were happening. Every time I refused to get my hair cut I got belted. But that was all later, when I walked along the beach hearing my name echoing out of the waves, waiting to die from an overdose of pills.
Before that, in the good times, there had been the go cart and the piles of beer bottles, the huge clumps of blackberry bushes and a tiny hope that life would turn out to be interesting after all; that the strange almost pioneer families who had built their homes along Wallamutta Road held secrets that would help me escape into a greater profundity; a creative life. And that the eiry sad silence which enveloped our house, I never heard my parents laugh, I never heard them cry, I never heard them argue, I never heard them shout at each other; that this strange silent war in which I grew up would end and we could escape down that winding road, no longer picking our way carefully through the prickles to get to the staining, mushy fruit but sneaking down to the bus stop to escape into the city, another world, another life.
THE BIGGER STORY:
The Age:
South Australia has moved to double the deposit on drink bottles, cans and cartons in a move Clean Up Australia has hailed a model for the rest of the country.
Premier Mike Rann said on Tuesday the current five cent deposit on drink containers, which had been in place since 1977, would be doubled to 10 cents later this year.
He said the increase would provide a greater incentive to recycle empty containers and cut into the 185 million still going to landfill each year.
"It will ensure even more containers are recycled, as well as reducing litter and increasing the amount of money community groups can generate from the return of containers," Mr Rann said.
In recent years, the return rate for drink containers had dropped from about 84 per cent to 70 per cent, suggesting, the premier said, the time was right to increase the deposit.
Clean Up Australia chairman Ian Kiernan said doubling the refund for recycling drink bottles and cans was the most effective way to boost recycling rates and SA's lead should be followed by other states.
He said a poll conducted last year indicated 82 per cent of people across Australia supported the idea of a national 10 cent refund.
"It's a no-brainer," Mr Kiernan said.
"The community, government and industry all have a role to play and a shared responsibility to make recycling an effective solution to waste.
"A financial incentive to recycle is a compelling reason not to dump bottles and cans in the environment."
Mr Rann said South Australia's aim was to have every container carrying the deposit returned for recycling.
He said the government would consult with the beverage industry and container collectors to ensure the transition to a 10 cent deposit was carefully planned.
Coca-Cola Amatil said the increase in the container deposit would just hurt families by increasing the cost of packaged alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
"We are of the view that an increased container deposit levy will effectively be a tax on the majority of South Australians who do the right thing when it comes to litter," said managing director Warwick White.
"Container deposit levies are an old fashioned and inefficient response to the waste problem.
"Improved recovery is better addressed by investing in more efficient kerbside and public place recycling systems, as well as better public education."
Phillip at Tanbar Springs.
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