Sounds like someone positioning himself ahead of being embarrassed by a document he has no intention of agreeing with. What exactly does 'true reconciliation' mean in Howard speak? I think we can get a clue in the new emphasis on 'milestones'. He still wants it his way or no way! --- Trudy =============================================== The Australian Howard abandons deadline By Political editor DENNIS SHANAHAN 28feb00 JOHN Howard has declared that Aboriginal reconciliation will not be achieved by the December 31 deadline and that real reconciliation will take years. For the first time, the Prime Minister has formally stated that the deadline, set in 1991, for the Reconciliation Council to produce a document of reconciliation by the end of this year will fail. Mr Howard has shifted the Government's emphasis away from the reconciliation document and sought to puncture rising political pressure as milestones in the process � such as the national day on May 27, the Olympics and the deadline itself � approach without a result. The Prime Minister himself made reconciliation a priority for his second term on election night. "I also want to commit myself very genuinely to the cause of true reconciliation with the Aboriginal people by the centenary of Federation," he said in his victory speech. "We may differ and debate about the best way of achieving reconciliation, but I think all Australians are united in a determination to achieve it." In what is expected to provoke a national outcry, Mr Howard has said that setting a deadline was a big mistake and "too much store has been put in the document (of reconciliation) itself". Mr Howard and his ministers have begun a process of drawing attention to the delivery of services to Aboriginal communities and away from the signing of the reconciliation document, which was initially seen as a "treaty". In an interview with The Australian, Mr Howard said that if he had been prime minister in 1991 he would not have agreed to a formal deadline for reconciliation: "One of the great mistakes we could get ourselves into is to feel that unless we resolve all this by May or December, it's all been wasted. "We won't resolve it by May or December. The reconciliation process will take a long time and it will unfold over a period of years. What really matters are not so much documents . . . these things are all incremental." He said the Government was beginning to emphasise improving services to Aboriginal communities where "progress is being made". The Prime Minister has pinpointed as the main stumbling block the continuing differences over an apology to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders for the wrongs of previous generations. He has cited widespread community support for his view that "you do not say sorry for something you are not personally responsible for" as a justification of the Government's position and said there is a "disconnect" between his critics and the general community. The Government is aware of the results of a survey conducted by the Reconciliation Council which is understood to show community opposition to an apology to Aborigines for appalling treatment by past generations. Mr Howard's explicit admission that a deadline of December 31 will not be met follows remarks two weeks ago that the process of reconciliation should not be "time sensitive". It is also designed to ease the pressure on government negotiators to come to an agreement within 10 months. He said the Government will do what it can; that he will participate in the May 27 activities; and that "a lot of what the Reconciliation Council is talking about, I support". But he is trying to break free of a deadline. "What it (a deadline) encourages is bad behaviour on both sides. People make demands against a deadline and others dig their heels in. I think it was a mistake," he told The Australian. "(Reconciliation) is a very slow process; it is something that evolves over time." Mr Howard said he would continue to deal with the Reconciliation Council, ATSIC and the general Aboriginal community. -- ********************************* Make the Hunger Site your homepage! http://www.thehungersite.com/index.html ********************************* ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." 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