A Speech That People Of Australia Will Never Forget

At 9am on February 13 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a speech that people of Australia will never forget. Prime Minister Rudd stood up in front of parliament and apologised to the Indigenous people of Australia, he apologised for laws, policies and mistreatment on the behalf of successive parliaments and governments with particular focus on people affected by the stolen generation (Rudd, 2011). An ideal picture of the future was also painted, where Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are equals, where the gap in â€Å"life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity† was finally closed (Rudd, 2011, p.14). To some, this was seen as a positive step in the direction of reconciliation for Australia, however, eight years on, without much progress and no sign of a treaty, one has to ask, was it enough? Firstly, it is important to look at exactly what reconciliation is, and what it means for the people of Australia. It is also important to look at significant events leading up to the apology, and what has happened since. It is also useful to investigate what other countries have done to reconcile with their own Indigenous populations. All of these should give picture of what has happened, why it has happened and what needs to be done to achieve reconciliation. The Cambridge dictionary has two definitions for reconciliation, â€Å"A situation in which two people or groups of people become friendly again after they have argued†, and â€Å"The process ofShow MoreRelatedAdvanced English Module B: Critical Study Speeches; Bandler Anwar Sadat1590 Words   |  7 Pageswill always remain significant within society and will never become dependent on shaping today’s society but be a memory of our past and a reminder of who we are today. Only very few texts still remain today that are highly regarded as being timeless and have the ability to still be understood in today’s society. 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