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Published on February 14, 2008

More than 40 years after the Australian government of the time ceased its policy of removing more than 100,000 Aboriginal children from their families - and most of the time, placing them into institutions, thus paving the way for lives full of emotional anguish - a Federal Australian Government has apologised.

I cannot speak for all Australians, but below is the opinion of one young university graduate from Melbourne.

The previous lack of an official apology has been a source of shame for many non-indigenous Australians for decades. But the strong push for reconciliation really began in 1997, following the release of a report called "Bringing Them Home", which recorded the stories of hundreds of indigenous Australians who were members of the so-called "stolen generation".

I remember attending rallies with my parents as a young child, pleading for justice and a bit of respect for these people who had suffered their entire lives because of an official government policy.

All my life, my parents have instilled in me this compassion for the first people of our land; a people who represent the oldest continuing culture on earth.

And yesterday, as I watched the speech by our prime minister Kevin Rudd over the Internet, I felt proud to be an Australian. It sent shivers up my spine and I just wish I could have been in Australia for this beautiful moment of unity between all Australians.

The world caught a glimpse of this part of Australian history at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when members of the political rock group Midnight Oil - the lead singer of which is now our environment minister - wore black clothing emblazoned with the word "Sorry" as they performed on stage.

This was followed in 2002 by a film about children who were taken from their families. "Rabbit-Proof Fence" was released to critical acclaim.

Now, in 2008, 39 years after the policy was officially over-turned, the victims finally have their long-awaited and deserved apology.

Many people have said an apology isn't enough. Australia's indigenous population of around 460,000 continues to be a shamefully disadvantaged group in our society. Their life expectancy is 17 years less than non-indigenous Australians, and they are 11 times more likely to end up in the prison system, 20 times for juveniles. They simply do not have equal access to education, health services and employment. And this is something which must be urgently addressed.

Last year, our previous government headed by then prime minister John Howard recognised that something had to be done, and chose the radical "solution" of an army intervention.

Yes, the situation is desperate, but that "solution" was enacted by a desperate government.

We are lucky that today we have a new government, hopefully one with new ideas of how to solve the crisis in our Aboriginal communities.

Now that the symbolic "sorry" has been expressed on behalf of all non-indigenous Australians, we must insist on immediate, non-military action to begin to close the gap and move towards real equality for all Australians, whatever their background.

Lily Partland

The Nation