Dodson urges PM on reconciliation draft By ROD McGUIRK of AAP 01may00 2.30pm (AEST) PRIME Minister John Howard rather than the Governor-General should accept the historic reconciliation declaration, the first Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation chairman Pat Dodson said today. Pat Dodson, who chaired the decade-old council for its first six years, said the Queen's representative, Sir William Deane, was not an appropriate choice. There is argument among the present council's 25 members about whether Sir William or John Howard should accept the declaration on behalf of the nation at Corroboree 2000. "I admire and respect the governor-general immensely but I think it would place him in a very difficult position," Mr Dodson said. Mr Howard was the correct choice since the council must report to him as the responsible minister before it is disbanded in December. "That's the appropriate thing because ultimately, the parliament has responsibility for this," he said. "Let the parliament wear the responsibility for what it does; it's not the head of state that has to do that." Both Sir William and Mr Howard will attend the Sydney Opera House launch of the document on May 27. The council has included an apology for past injustices, despite the Prime Minister's warning that he would not accept it. But Mr Dodson said parliament's attitude was more important than the Prime Minister's. Mr Howard had agreed to a wimpish apology - an expression of deep and sincere regret - in a compromise backed by Aboriginal Australian Democrats Senator Aden Ridgeway and passed by parliament last year, Mr Dodson said. "If they're consistent with what they're hearing from the public, and certainly from the indigenous area, an apology is an essential element of reconciliation," Mr Dodson said. "My concern has always been what happens to this document in the sense of the parliament's response to it, not just the Prime Minister's response." He said the council's report to the parliament later this year and its recommendations to continue the reconciliation process was more important than the declaration. "We've got to be able to end this year with some clear commitments from the Government and the parliament about what it is we're going to do in terms of the recognition of the rights and position and responsibilities of the indigenous people in this country," he said. -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ 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." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
