"It was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us."

Paul Keatings speech at Redfern 10 Dec 1992 for the Year for the Worlds Indigenous People.... yep thats 27 years ago. Transcript found HERE

Im a fan of Paul Keating, about as much as i love Jeff Kennett - different parties - same characters - willing to put their opinions on the line. Good speech this one too - goes a long way to describe the white mans "i can see its a problem, but m not sure what to do" babble, which i can often find myself in.

Have we progressed? Perhaps his timing was a little late? Because alot of great things (in music) happened a year before this in 1991.

Red Hot Cilli Peppers 'Blood Sugar Sex Magic', Nirvana 'Nevermind', Pearl Jam 'Ten', Massive Attack 'Blue Lines', Soundgarden 'Badmotorfinger', Guns n Roses 'Use Your Illusion', Lenny Kravitz 'Mamma Said' ..... and even NWA Niggaz4Life. Even Michael Jackson and Prince released albums in 1991 - big year for music - look it up. Perhaps it was the stars and planets for progression and Paul was just a year late?

Got me thinking about timing. Timing is everything. Shall i say it again....... everything! Do you think we've travelled very far from what Paul Keating expected 27 years ago? Perhaps he should have delivered it a year earlier.... when all the good things came out.