On February 13, 2008, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said “we are sorry” to members of the Stolen Generations. This was a significant moment in the shameful history of Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Apology represented a formal acknowledgement that the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was based on racist policies that caused unspeakable harm to our communities.
Children were forced off their lands. They were disconnected from their kin, Country, traditional languages and culture.
Today on Sorry Day, 13 years since the Apology, our Elders, families and communities still grieve these losses. And many families are being repeatedly traumatised by contemporary child removal practices. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are nearly 10 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be in out-of-home care.
Liam Dann: Budget 2021: Why Grant Robertson won t match big spending Aussies
15 May, 2021 05:00 PM
5 minutes to read
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) and Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
OPINION:
Maybe it will please no one.
At least that s how it s going to seem when the chorus of commentary rains down like dragon-fire on Thursday.
I don t think Finance Minister Grant Robertson is about to deliver a terrible Budget.
I just think he s about to be punished for delivering a sensible one.
It s going to be moderate Budget.
Robertson is an extreme moderate.
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He s not going cut spending enough to appease the debt worriers on the right.
Beyond belief: How the media gets caught up on PMâs Pentecostalism
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A Bible passage has been on my mind since the Prime Ministerâs address at the biennial Australian Christian Churches conference, where Christ approaches fisherman and calls them to become his disciples, evangelists, no longer to seek out fish but now people;
I will make you fishers of men.
There was an echo of this story in the Prime Ministerâs controversial address, that Scott Morrison feels called to use his earthly skills for heavenly purposes, but at the heart of this appeal was also something like evangelism, a call to those Pentecostal leaders present. Morrison asked for their help.
Labor must be bold and consider changing leader before next election
12 May 2021, 19:52 GMT+10
To stand a chance of winning the next election, Labor must change its leader to someone who is well-known and has broad appeal, writes Paul Begley.
DEPOSED AT the 11th hour on 3 February 1983 by a Labor candidate with fire in his belly by the name of Bob Hawke, a despondent Bill Hayden observed philosophically that a drover s dog could have led Labor to victory in the 1983 election against a troubled Fraser Government. Hawke won that election in a landslide that might have been Hayden s landslide, or not. Labor did not want to take that risk and installed Hawke.
Armageddon will benefit no one Picture for representational purpose only. AFP
THE problem with a war-oriented strategy is that there are no winners from any nuclear war. What is certain is that we will be left with an unlivable radioactive Earth.
The Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world and failure of governments to address climate change impacts, and global warming have been dominating headlines. This has led to some concern about the vulnerability of societies and nations in the world to catastrophe from an unavoidable doomsday scenario.
At the same time, predictions of doomsday or the ending of the world have been around for a long time. Most people either shrug it off or dismiss the warnings outright. However, the latest developments in our region of the world should alert the public and governments to this heightened possibility.