Today, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generation as the first priority of his newly elected government.

(pic by Wendy Tanner)

In one of the many philosophical asides in E.L. Doctorow’s tale of the machinations of NYC, The Waterworks, he comments that the only place you’re outside history is in heaven - a boring, eventless place - otherwise you’re in history and the events of history are happening around you. That may be true, but things got stuck for the past decade of dogged, determined neo-con (were those three letters ever so well used?) politics. What a difference a couple of months make, it’s tough to avoid the conclusion we’re now living in auspicious times.

The death throes of the Howard years are plainly visible in Wilson Tuckey’s cries - Chris Graham, editor of the National Indigenous Times, wrote in Crikey last month that the ordeal would be worthwhile if it forced Tuckey to sit through the apology, because “there’s a very real chance his head might explode … [doing] more for reconciliation than any apology ever could” - Tuckey, however, continued his past few days’ distinguished behaviour and left the parliament, loudly reciting the Lord’s Prayer (hands on ears and stomping his feet, I suppose), before Rudd began.

Rudd’s apology this morning was frank, sincere, and most importantly, unqualified. You can only imagine the semantic, condescending mess it would have been in the opposition’s hands (actually you just had to watch Nelson’s attempt, with Julie Bishop watching tersely); but that’s it, they’re opposition now. And the thrill of this thing, this apology, that a lot of Australians thought might never happen - and preceded by a welcome to country to open parliament - auspicious indeed.

The things Rudd apologised for, however, did not happen in the past 11 years. It’s Australia’s chequered relationship with its first people, and it’s something that’s going to take a lot more than just words to fix. Stark differences in life expectancy and education levels between Koori and mainstream Australia must be addressed. The apology is a vital step, but it’s just the first.