
Issue No 57		09 June 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Satire

Howard Says 'Sorry'

In a startling apology to the Aboriginal community, Prime Minister John Howard said last night he was deeply sorry that he turned up to the Corroboree 2000 celebrations.

Mr Howard said he was especially sorry that he was abused throughout the ceremony.

He said he couldn't understand why he was repeatedly jeered during his speech about the evils of reconciliation.

'The crowd was wild and unruly,' said Mr Howard. 'It was typical of the kind of uncivilised behaviour you'd expect from Aborigines. I mean, imagine if we carried on like that in parliament. It's just lucky that Aborigines are so rarely elected to Parliament'

Mr Howard said he was particularly affronted when several Aboriginal people in the crowd turned their backs on him, saying that is not something his government would ever do to them.

'We clearly still have a lot of differences to sort through. On the one hand white Australians are more than ready to commit to reconciliation, while the blacks still seem to have a problem with accepting our hatred and intolerance of them.'

Compere Ray Martin tried to restore peace to the ceremony by assuring everyone he'd be making no more episodes of "Simply the Best".

But tempers were inflamed when the Prime Minister symbolically dipped his hand in black paint, and then wiped it clean on the shawl of Aboriginal Reconciliation chief velyn Scott.

The Prime Minister and his Cabinet later refused to join the Reconciliation Walk across the Harbour Bridge, preferring instead to walk in the opposite direction against the flow.

'It's important that the government is out of step with the rest of the nation,' said Mr Howard. 'Plus this way we avoid the bridge toll.'

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Issue 57 contents

Interview: Cocky Labor
On the eve of State Conference, Country Labor convenor Tony Kelly outlines how Labor is stealing the ground from under the National Party's feet.

Economics: Millenium Work Ethics - A New Social Partnership?
The future of work in the twenty-first century will be both provocative and challenging, according to Professor Russell Lansbury.

Politics: Extracting the Digit
Labor's federal communications spokesman Stehpen Smith outlines the Party's position on the controversial datacasting legislation currently before Parliament.

History: Hot Off the Press
Check out what's in the latest issue of Labour History - A Journal of Labour and Social History,

International: The East Timor of Africa
Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta will this week tell a Sydney audience of the parallels between East Timor and the nation described as the last colony in Africa - the Western Sahara.

Environment: MUA Snail Men Honoured
Brisbane wharfies Lehi Munday and Mal Monro look an unlikely Watson and Sherlock double, but their keen detective work has helped win the Southern Queensland MUA Branch two national environment awards.

Satire: Howard Says 'Sorry'
In a startling apology to the Aboriginal community, Prime Minister John Howard said last night he was deeply sorry that he turned up to the Corroboree 2000 celebrations.

Review: Front Stage and Pulp Fiction
The Waterfront War has made the transition from industrial showdown to cultural icon. Now it's inspiring artists.

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