The Canberra Multicultural Community Forum welcomes the apology delivered to indigenous Australians by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Parliament this week and believes it has set the stage for an era of harmony between the nation’s first inhabitants and those who have made it their home in the past 220 years.CMCF Chair Sam Wong said it had been a matter of concern to the multicultural community that Australia’s first culture – the oldest surviving in the world – had felt degraded and excluded from national life.
“I strongly believe that after Wednesday Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can hold their heads high in the Australian family and it was great to see black and white Australians linked in their joy that the apology has been made,” he said.
“It is also a pleasant coincidence that Sorry Day came in the middle of the National Multicultural Festival which celebrates the achievements of all cultures and in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are playing a significant role.”
“This week will long be remembered in Canberra and across the nation with pride – we have done good work.”