That would certainly be more useful. Won't happen though. An 'apology' is much easier, even if meaningless in terms of making any difference.The mothers are due for an apology fair enough, but would you actually go to a meeting specifically for that ?
No me neither, the sort of person that does is a little extreme in their views and would hate Abbott anyway, Gillard would find it a piece of cake to win these people over..........just a little false empathy practise for her.
These mothers deserve more than an apology there should be a department set up to try to find lost kids, assess their situation and see if it's appropriate to reunite.
That would certainly be more useful. Won't happen though. An 'apology' is much easier, even if meaningless in terms of making any difference.
If it makes the women affected feel better, though, it's fine with me. Easy to be dismissive of the feelings of others when we haven't gone through what they have.
I think the most telling aspect of the events of Thursday are the way they are being reported everywhere. Apart from Labor pollies (and not even all of them) ever leftsyone else (print and electronic media (including the partisan ABC), random people on the radio that don't usually comment on politics, man/woman in the street) is variously describing them as a shambles, farce, debacle, chaos, shamozzle, shenanigans etc. This can only hurt Labor bigtime.
Fairly obviously to just refer to the mothers which was what the issue was all about.
Gillard managed to do it pretty well.
That's not a comment on her sincerity or otherwise, but recognises her capacity on this occasion to understand what her audience wanted to hear. Imo Mr Abbott should have done likewise.
Seems like an unimportant issue to most of us, but it was hugely important to that group of women who have waited fifty years for the apology and who travelled from all points to Canberra for the occasion.
Sails, you're of an age when you should clearly remember the stigma attached to unmarried mothers.
Usually, the father of the child was nowhere to be seen, and the girl bundled off somewhere to endure her pregnancy and the birth out of the public eye. Some of these young girls were forced to have their babies locked alone in a broom cupboard, such was the punitive nature of the social mores of that time. Then they were not allowed to see their children after the delivery, despite their wish to keep them. I'm not sure, but I don't think there was any single mother's pension in those days. Certainly there was a widespread stigma attached to any young woman bearing a child without a husband.
Just contrast that with how much welfare is available to single mothers these days. Not to mention publicly funded IVF for lesbians etc.
Don't you think those young mothers of fifty years ago are due some sort of apology for the inhumane way they were treated?
I'd hate to think some of the judgements being made now, and on this thread, relate to an ongoing moral condemnation of young women who made a mistake in a time when reliable contraception was unavailable.
Actually agree for a change it was a time for heighten sensitivity and needed to be treated as such lots of raw emotion of a time past with heavy memories and pain.
"I tell you what, if the government doesn't start showing some stability and some competency I think it is going to struggle to get the numbers when that motion of no confidence does come up," he said.
That wind bag Andrew Wilkie is at it again,
After the betrayal on his pokies reforms and 2 and 1/2 years in office, does he really expect a new Gillard government ?
I don't think so.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...onfidence-motion/story-fnhqeu0x-1226604003355
That wind bag Andrew Wilkie is at it again,
After the betrayal on his pokies reforms and 2 and 1/2 years in office, does he really expect a new Gillard government ?
I don't think so.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...onfidence-motion/story-fnhqeu0x-1226604003355
Of course, any excuse to denigrate Abbott...lol
Not a bad article that.Good summary of recent events by Michelle Grattan.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au...il&utm_content=242469&utm_campaign=pm&modapt=
IF, I'm sure we all get that had the perceived error been on the part of Ms Gillard, your sensitivities would not have been so offended.True I will never miss a chance to put the boot in but I did think it a opportunity missed, given Abbott's very conservative thinking around social issues everyone would have been waiting to see how he did handle it and I think he failed.
On this, a couple of people have suggested Mr Abbott had no need to participate in this apology at all.
..After watching some vision clearly some present thought his choice of words were poor.
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