Please remember this columnist is known for confusing his opinion with the facts! Trudy The Sunday Telegraph Facts and friction OPINION /9jan00 IF the premature celebration of the dawn of the new millennium has produced anything beyond some of the most nauseating platitudes of all time, it has given fresh momentum to what is loosely described as reconciliation. "Loosely" because nowhere can I find a definition of the term, as used so widely in Australia, to describe a process that is constantly being urged on the population. Nor is the dictionary specific about Australian reconciliation, but we can deduce from the definitions offered that what is being discussed in this country is probably the process of becoming friendly with someone or some people after an estrangement. This fits with material turned up on the Internet on a variety of sites, dealing largely with the South African experience, but also to do with historical conflicts of every sort. Tucked among them is a Web site run by a young Australian woman named Felicity Palmer, who presents little beyond a glowing endorsement of the flawed report on the so-called Stolen Generation, produced by Sir Ronald Wilson in 1997. Helpfully, Palmer does commit herself to describing reconciliation as "not about being guilty for the past, but about recognising the truth, however shameful, of Australia's past treatment of Aboriginal people." Unfortunately, her enthusiasm for Wilson's report would indicate that she doesn't favour the usual methods of determining the truth through the provision of sworn testimony, hard evidence and so on � all of which were notably absent from the material Wilson used in reaching his findings. Truth was also a casualty in the ABC's six-part Boyer lectures given by Dr Inga Clendinnen, republished without critical comment by the Sydney Morning Herald and now available through ABC bookshops under the laughable title of True Stories. Clendinnen's heart was doubtless in the right place, just as are the hearts of Palmer and Wilson. The problem lies in presenting wishful supposition as fact. In particular, Clendinnen has repeatedly claimed that Aboriginal children were routinely removed from parents without due legal process until some time in the mid-1970s. The reality is that at no time were children, Aboriginal or otherwise, removed from their parents except when they were found to be "neglected", "destitute" or "uncontrollable" � a fact that even Wilson pointed out in his report and commented on repeatedly � and at all times appeals to the courts were available. So much for True Stories! But that's the past. The problem is that truth about current events is just as much under assault, as evidenced by the curious reporting of recent remarks by acting prime minister John Anderson after a series of meeting with groups of older Aboriginals. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, all the elderly people wanted was for the national government to say sorry for the past treatment Aboriginal people had received, regardless of the fact that Prime Minister John Howard officially expressed the nation's regret last year. Other reports, however, said that these mature Aboriginal people had told Anderson they were very concerned that young Aborigines were anxious to demand their "rights", but slow to recognise their "responsibilities" as members of society. The Herald also reported that Anderson had said that too frequently, the day Aboriginal welfare cheques arrived became "party" day in remote communities. Steaming ahead with its agenda, the newspaper then found a number of self-appointed Aboriginal spokesmen to decry Mr Anderson's observation, including newly elected ATSIC commissioner Charles Perkins. The problem for the Herald, however, is that the same remark was made even more strongly last year by genuine Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson, who said he was dismayed that the day when child-welfare cheques reached some remote communities was also the day when children were most frequently placed at risk. New ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark did not fall into the same trap as his colleague, however, preferring to welcome Anderson's active involvement in this area. If Clark is prepared to deal with the truth, then perhaps something can be done. As far as reconciliation goes, nothing is served if those campaigning are unwilling or unable to confront the facts, and not deal in rumour and propaganda. For any organisation to further disseminate half-truths and falsehoods will only destroy the bedrock of goodwill that exists between all Australians, regardless of their racial origin. 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