Australia says sorry to 'stolen aborigines'

The Australia Government is poised to apologise to the country's indigenous aborigine population forcibly taken from their homes - but compensation has been ruled out.Many aboriginal children were taken from their homes between the 1870s and 1960s and placed in orphanages or fostered to introduce them to European culture. As depicted in the 2002 film "Rabbit-Proof Fence", many of the 'Stolen Generation' were abused.The apology was a manifesto pledge of incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and will be made in parliament later.Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said: "The apology will be made on behalf of the Australian government and does not attribute guilt to the current generation of Australian people."Firstly, our commitment to saying 'Sorry' is clear cut. I said so before the election, I said if we're elected we'll do it, and we're going to do it. And I've said repeatedly the reason for so doing, is that there's unfinished business here on the part of the nation."But aboriginal demands for almost £500 million in reparations for victims has been ruled out.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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ITN | February 12, 2008

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