Apology will bridge indigenous gap

Apology will bridge indigenous gap: "'The key thing is to build a bridge with indigenous Australia through an apology, through saying sorry because that bridge is halfway to respect, to restoring respect,' the Prime Minister told reporters in Canberra."

I am not sure we are ever going to get the wording right when we apologise to a group of people who were treated in such a thoughtless, senseless way by parochial, single minded, culturally insensitive white people. No matter if their intentions might have been good.Their behaviour was appalling. We live in a country alongside the oldest tribe on the planet. We do need to respect our indigenous people and their rich heritage and we do need to learn from them and walk next to them. Our white history is short and in that short time we haven't been respectful of people who have lived in this land forever and whose ancestors knew so much about living in this land. I think we can talk to them. I think we can ask them what they would like us to say. I think then we just have to give it our best shot and do it straight from the heart. I also strongly believe we should all participate in this. We should all make an effort because so many of us want to build that bridge. I think we should have a day where we have ceremonies around Australia and where we develop events which will bring us all together so that we can participate as a nation in the saying of sorry. It needs to celebrate the ties and inroads we have made. I think it needs to look at our short comings and I think it needs to give us some plans and future directions. You make friends when there is mutual sharing and mutual need. Where there is two way traffic. And friends dont' worry so much about what you say, but that you say it.