Today in Victoria

Today saw an historic moment for the Australian state of Victoria when the current government made an official apology to the indigenous populations for past atrocities and present inequalities. Premier Jacinta Allen made the nine minute speech on the floor of the Legislative Assembly in a joint sitting of all representatives with representatives of indigenous Victorians present and was streamed live.

A momentous event for all of us and I hope other states follow.

There seems to be confusion with this apology and the one made by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008. The latter was a federal government acknowledgment of the wrongs meted out over 200 plus years of colonial rule, more a reaction to years of inaction of the previous John Howard government. Little Johnny and his “not sorry” zealots in politics and media dug their heels in for his four terms, not only whining about why this generation should not apologise but also questioning established fact about the frontier warfare, the stolen generations and the genocidal intentions of past policy. Hard facts that should make us uncomfortable.

This is no recent fashionable fancy of the left playing a guilt trip; documents support the evidence of blood spilt on the wattle (see Bruce Elder’s book on the topic of a war on the original inhabitants), eye witnesses- black and white- wrote accounts of hostilities, old colonials families murmured about dark secrets of the past, government policies of kidnapping and against miscegenation are there for all to see.

Even when we began to look back on this bloody past from around the 1970s onwards and acknowledges it, some told us to forget it and look forward whilst others through accusations of a gravy train at the aboriginal elders who could not forget. And should not be made to forget.

Jesus.

I am doing the exact thing I promised myself not to do when I started this blog.

To hell with it.

Power to the people who survived and the rest of us just shut up and listen with respect for a change.