Life Wasn't Meant To Be Easy.

Reconciliation Requires Changes Of Heart And Spirit, As Well As Social And Economic Change. It Requires Symbolic As Well As Practical Action.

Genocide Involves The Attempt To Achieve The Disappearance Of A Group By Whatever Means. It Does Not Have To Be Violent, It Could Be A Combination Of Policies That Would Lead To A Certain Group Dying Out.

Health Economists Have Estimated That An Injection Of $250 Million Per Year In Indigenous Clinical Care, And $50 Million In Preventative Care, Is Required To Provide Services At The Same Level As For Any Other Group With The Health Conditions Of Indigenous Australians.

Sorry Day Falls On The Eve Of Reconciliation Week, Giving Us The Chance To Ask Whether We Are Making Progress In The Wider Challenge Of Reconciling Indigenous And Other Australians.

Even Australians Who Take A Very, Very Hard Line About Asylum Seekers - And Unfortunately There Are More Than I Would Like To Think - Are Probably A Bit Uncomfortable With The Kind Of Treatment That Has Been Meted Out To Children In Detention By The Australian Government, In Their Name.