'We will say sorry': Rudd

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'We will say sorry': Rudd

By Misha Schubert and Annabel Stafford

KEVIN Rudd has vowed to act quickly after he is sworn in as prime minister to make a formal apology to Aboriginal Australians on behalf of the nation.

More than a decade after a landmark inquiry found that past policies to remove indigenous children from their families amounted to "genocide", Mr Rudd said yesterday he would make a statement of apology "early" in the new Parliament.

After his historic election win on Saturday, Mr Rudd has also taken the first steps to launching his so-called education revolution, ordering MPs to visit schools to gain insights on how to implement Labor policies.

And he has demanded that the Coalition support the repeal of WorkChoices in the Senate, after Queensland Liberal George Brandis suggested his party might not vote for the changes. "I thought the Australian people had a fairly clear message on that, only a couple of days ago," Mr Rudd said.

The apology to Aborigines will mark a symbolic break with John Howard's refusal to apologise to the "Stolen Generations" during his time in office.

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Mr Rudd's vow came days after he alarmed some indigenous leaders by saying there would be no referendum on reconciliation in the first term of his government, if at all.

Cape York indigenous leader Noel Pearson said at the time it was a disgraceful abandonment of a promise, and called Mr Rudd a "heartless snake".

Mr Rudd also wavered repeatedly during a recent radio interview when asked if he would use the word "sorry" in his apology. He finally clarified — after the question was asked for a sixth time — that "of course the substance of it is sorry".

Yesterday he moved to smooth relations by confirming that a formal apology would come "early in the parliamentary term", and reaffirming his pledge to eradicate, within a generation, a 17-year gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous children

Indigenous leaders welcomed the promise of a formal apology, saying there could be no healing without one. But they warned that saying "sorry" had to be backed up with a commitment to improve the health and living standards of Aborigines.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma said an apology would have a "cathartic effect" for indigenous Australians, similar to that felt by Vietnam War veterans after being welcomed into Anzac Day parades. But he said the apology would still be "just the start" and Labor also had to follow through with the funding it had promised to support healing and mental health programs.

The new co-chairman of Reconciliation Australia, Mick Dodson, agreed a formal apology was "important to all Aboriginal Australians because it acknowledges the suffering of too many of our people. But it's only part of the story of reconciliation."

Mr Dodson said the promise to close the life expectancy gap was also crucial and would involve a national plan to look at health, education, housing, employment and … (building) a respectful relationship with indigenous Australians".

Judy Atkinson, director of the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern Cross University, said many people who had been subjected to removal policies were now in prison or on the streets, and the "symbolic essence of saying sorry would have no literal meaning in their life". That was why it was important for Labor to commit to healing and bettering the lives of Aborigines, she said.

In another signature act yesterday, Mr Rudd ordered his MPs to visit both a public and a private school in their electorates by tomorrow, and to come to Canberra on Thursday with insights for a debate on implementing Labor's education policies.

Nominating education as his "absolute priority" in government, the Prime Minister-elect also commissioned his first cabinet submission: an implementation plan to buy computers for every student in years 9 to 12. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Peter Shergold has been instructed to prepare the submission in time for the first meeting of the new cabinet, expected next week

Arriving to a rapturous welcome at Southern Cross College, a Catholic school in the northern Brisbane seat of Petrie, which fell to Labor on Saturday, Mr Rudd and his deputy Julia Gillard were greeted by students chanting, "Kevin 07, Kevin 07."

Mr Rudd stressed that his computers plan would aid both government and non-government schools, underscoring Labor's pledge to fund education regardless of the choice made by parents about public or private education.

"We are blind to these matters because we want the best government schools in the world and the best non-government schools in the world — we want a world class education system while preserving parental choice," he said.

As he considers the composition of his first ministry, Mr Rudd also hinted that some high-flying new recruits might not be automatic starters.

"I believe that when it comes to selecting a frontbench team that parliamentary experience is very, very important," he said. That could leave recruits such as Maxine McKew, and union leaders Greg Combet and Bill Shorten, serving apprenticeships as parliamentary secretaries before joining the ministry.

Mr Rudd also flagged a broader, more activist role for Treasury in helping to shape policy, after department chief Ken Henry said in a speech earlier this year that his agency was eager to play a greater role in issues such as water policy and indigenous affairs.

"I believe the Treasury is staffed with high quality personnel, it has a strong tradition in independence in provision of advice, I would therefore welcome a broader role for their advice across the whole of government."

He made the comments at his second media conference as Prime Minister-elect, which lasted less than 17 minutes. His first, on Sunday, went for barely 13 minutes.

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