Sorry- Still the Hardest Word

I said earler in the week that one of the factors that prevented John Howard from breing a great Prime minister rather than just a very good one was his refusal to say "Sorry" for the past atrocities committed aginast our indigenous people.

This article from the ABC shows that little is changing in the Oppostion parties..


Bishop tight-lipped on 'sorry' stance

Brendan Nelson opposes an apology, but Julie Bishop wants to hear what Kevin Rudd has to say first.

The federal Coalition looks increasingly unlikely to support the new Government's pledge to say sorry to Indigenous Australians, despite some in the Liberal Party publicly backing the move.

Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd has promised a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.

Earlier this week, Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull backed the move and criticised former prime minister John Howard's refusal to say sorry.

But new Liberal leader Brendan Nelson says he is opposed to an apology.

However, Dr Nelson's deputy, Julie Bishop, wants to see what Mr Rudd is promising before stating her position.

"He's [Mr Rudd] been very shy in spelling out what he was actually going to say and how he was going to say it," she said.

"I mean he's been consistently baulking at actually saying these are the words.

"So I think it would be incumbent upon us to consider what the Government is putting forward and then take a position on it."

Meanwhile, Mr Rudd has told Southern Cross radio he does not think an apology will leave the Commonwealth open to expensive compensation claims.

"No, I believe that the only appropriate thing that we've got to get right is the exact language of the apology," he said.

"As I've said on many occasions before, the purpose of saying sorry is to build a bridge, establish respect so we can move on."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/30/2105903.htm