ZOMG! The PM has brains!

[Maelgrim]

PM Rudd to apologise without offering compo

As ridiculous as this apology is, I have to commend Kev for making it blatantly clear that no money will be attached to it. I can't believe that so many people are blinded by PC rhetoric that they cannot recognize this continued insistence on a formal apology from the federal government for exactly what it is. A money grab.

Now before anyone starts throwing fascist salutes in my general direction, let me explain my reasoning.

A formal apology implies a level of liability for the perceived wrong. An apology from the federal government, as the duly elected representative of the tax-paying Australian citizenry thus implies vicariously this liability upon the people.

Now I obviously can't speak for the 18 odd million people living in this country, but I've traced my family's genealogy right back to the 12th century, and not a single one, from the days of the first fleet until today, who had anything to do with what is popularly known as 'the stolen generation.'

(But we won't go into the very loud and public pleas from the Aboriginal elders to remove children from Aboriginal families in recent years, irony aside.)

Thusly, I feel quite justified in my refusal to support this apology, as I have absolutely nothing to apologize for.

Also, I'm pretty sure that those citizens who have immigrated over the past three generations have nothing to apologize for either, and considering the relatively multicultural nature of the Australian populace, that cuts out a fair few of the people this government is supposed to represent.

So why the insistence upon what essentially amounts to an empty gesture? Again, money. Any lawyer can tell you that an implied admission of accountability is a claimant's wet dream when it comes to pressing the matter in court. Even with Rudd's caveat that no official compensation fund will be established, you just watch the fucking wave of class actions and compensation cases that magically become substantive if this apology goes ahead.

Not to mention the people who'll use it as a 'mitigating circumstance' during a criminal case. (I molested a 10 year old girl because I'm traumatized as a member of the stolen generation.)

Wanna know what's worse than racism? People who use its abhorrence to skive a free ride out of the system.

[Savaric]

Originally posted by Maelgrim
[BWanna know what's worse than racism? People who use its abhorrence to skive a free ride out of the system. [/B]

Yea we have that same problem here in the U.S. I also know that idiot is opening a floodgate with a formal apology. He apparently seems to pretend to be naive about the ramifications of an apology -- or in the law world (as I understand), an admission of guilt.

[Malacasta]

Originally posted by Maelgrim
Wanna know what's worse than racism? People who use its abhorrence to skive a free ride out of the system.

Yeah, because the Koorie population is doing just great, and those skivers live a life of luxurious leisure. I think a sense of perspective would come in handy, Maelgrim.

[Belair]

The Stolen Generation is a sore point for Australia. There's no doubt that it had an incredibly negative impact on countless Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, the effects of which we still observe today. Whether or not we were personally involved in taking the children away from their families is moot. They're still Australians and thus it's the Australian government's responsibility to ensure their well-being.

"Sorry" is just the first step. There's still a very unflattering discrepancy between the life expectancy and education of Aboriginals compared to white Australians. This is by no standard an easy problem, and almost certainly one that's not going to get solved by token handouts. Nevertheless, it's in all our interests to take every reasonable action to assist with their integration.

Here's the wikipedia link to the Stolen Generation.

[Maelgrim]

Yeah, because the Koorie population is doing just great, and those skivers live a life of luxurious leisure.

True, but it ain't the Koorie people who you see on the news and the radio frothing so rabidly for it, is it? It's their quasi-caste (largely self-declared, from my understanding) 'national representatives'. Look at the dissolution of ATSIC. An internal audit found that for all intensive purposes, the organization served to better the organization, not the welfare of aboriginal people as a whole.

THAT'S The kind of skiver I'm talking about. That rapist Geoff Clark, who looks whiter than me, and has the audacity to cry crocodile tears on national TV accusing the court of racism for daring to charge him with a criminal offence.

Hell, I even have a good friend who has blonde hair and blue eyes who claims native title and has never had to work a day in her damn life. I've flat out told her what she's doing is a rort.

Do I belive that the disparity between the quality of life of Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians should be addressed as a matter of priority? Absolutely.

Do I belive it's a scenario which can be solved by throwing compensation at it, which seems to be the absolute FIRST thing these 'representatives' ask for? Absolutely NOT.

In fact, I think a lot of people would be shocked at what the Aboriginal people seem to actually WANT. To use a very public example, Fitzroy crossing. They not only WANT a complete alcohol ban, increased policing, and delineation on welfare payments to ensure that parents actually use the money to take care of their families, instead of grog.

There have also been requests from aboriginal elders for DCS workers to REMOVE children from their families in problem communities to ensure that the children actually have a chance at a decent life.

Notice 'massive compensation payout' wasn't mentioned?