"Beds Are Burning" is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These 'last contact' people began moving from the Gibson Desert to settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950s and 1960's to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore community which is nestled in the picturesque Kintore Ranges, surrounded by Mulga and Spinifex country. It is now a thriving little community with a population of about 400.
Midnight Oil performed the song in front of a world audience of billions (including Prime Minister John Howard who has claimed this is his favorite Midnight Oil song) at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The whole band were dressed in black, with the words "sorry" printed conspicuously on their clothes. This was a reference to the Prime Minister's refusal to apologize, on behalf of Australia, to the Aboriginal Australians for the way they have been treated over the last 200 years.
Eight years later, a new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, did apologize. Reparations, however, have yet to be paid:
The government hopes the apology will repair the breach between white and black Australia and usher in a new era of recognition and reconciliation.
The parliamentary session was shown live on television as well as on public screens erected in cities across the country.
Mr Rudd received a standing ovation from MPs and onlookers in parliament, and cheers from the thousands of Australians watching outside.
Michael Mansell, a spokesman for the rights group the National Aboriginal Alliance, said the word "sorry" was one that "Stolen Generation members will be very relieved is finally being used", reported Associated Press news agency.
But the refusal to accompany the apology with any compensation has angered many Aboriginal leaders, who have called it a "cut-price sorry".
"Blackfellas will get the words, the whitefellas keep the money," summed up Noel Pearson, a respected Aboriginal leader, in The Australian newspaper.
The prophets are now 21 years ahead of the politicians, and counting....
STATE BLOGS
