Peter Dutton boycotted the apology for stolen generations offered by the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in 2008. Today the opposition leader used the 15th anniversary of the occasion to admit he was wrong not to attend.
“I didn’t understand the symbolic meaning of the Stolen Generation apology at the time,” Dutton said at Parliament House, where members of the Stolen Generation sat in the public gallery.
But he said those questioning the vote of Indigenous people in parliament were “not callous” after Anthony Albanese claimed the referendum was the next stage in Australia’s reconciliation process.
It came as the government’s proposal not to fund the yes or no campaigns was supported by a parliamentary review, although five coalition members on the panel said they could not support the bill “in good conscience”. Labor also announced the next phase of its Closing the Gap plan with a $420 million pledge to provide clean water, food security and housing for Indigenous Australians.
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Cambodian dictator shuts down broadcasting | Hun Sen has ordered the closure of Voice of Democracy, one of Cambodia’s last independent local news organizations. The dictator said the broadcaster attacked him and his son and damaged the government’s “dignity and reputation” with a story about Cambodia’s earthquake aid to Turkey.
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Founder of De La Soul dies at age 54 | David Jolicoeur, who helped produce at least one masterpiece in 3 Feet High and Rising as Trugy the Dave, has passed away at the age of 54. While no cause of death has been given, the rapper has discussed his battle with congestive heart failure in the past. Fellow rappers recall “a legend of hip-hop music and culture”.
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These five things will determine your interest rates
Guardian Australia economics correspondent Peter Hannam talks to Jane Lee about five things that will determine how quickly the central bank can stop raising rates and steer the economy towards recovery. Listen to this 21 minute episode.
What they said…
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“The manner and circumstances behind this persecution of Dan are something you would expect in an authoritarian country, but not in a democratic Australia.” – Saffron Duggan
The wife of detained Australian citizen and former US Marines fighter pilot Daniel Duggan described his 115-day detention as an “insult to the Australian rule of law”. The US is seeking Duggan’s extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering more than a decade ago.
In numbers
Women’s voices still rank second to men in newsrooms, according to Women in Media’s latest gender scorecard. While there has been a 10% increase in the share of the byline toward women since 2016, last year’s analysis of 18,346 press, radio and TV news reports shows that male voices are still dominant.
Read before going to sleep
Does “like attract” or “opposites attract”? Science is closing in on the answers to what really fuels a long-term relationship and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s complicated.
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