not that powerful , '' Rudd said in the Australian Parliament . He said that the apology was the start of a new approach towards Aborigines which included helping them find their lost families , closing pay gaps and a 17-year difference in life expectancy between Aborigines and white Australians . Watch Rudd make the apology '' He said new policies would be introduced to provide better healthcare and education to Aborigines . `` The mood of the nation is for reconciliation now , '' Rudd said . Watch why this apology is considered significant '' The policy was largely a secret until a decade ago , when a government inquiry and high-profile movie exposed it . That sparked a mass movement , supported by many white Australians , demanding an apology . Former Prime Minister John Howard refused to offer an apology , saying the current generation should not be held accountable for past misdeeds . He instead issued a statement of regret . Rudd , who defeated Howard last November , made an apology part of his election campaign . Howard 's successor as leader of the Liberal Party , Brendan Nelson , supported the apology Wednesday .
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Australian government apologized Wednesday for years of `` mistreatment '' that inflicted `` profound grief , suffering and loss '' on the country 's Aboriginal people . Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes the apology on Wednesday from inside Parliament . New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd read the apology Wednesday to Aborigines and the `` Stolen Generations '' of children who were taken from their families . `` To the mothers and fathers , to the brothers and sisters we say sorry . And for the indignity and degradation on a proud people and a proud culture we say sorry . '' For 60 years , until 1970 , the Australian government took mixed-race Aboriginal children from their families and put them in dormitories or industrial schools , claiming it was protecting them . As a result of the policy , `` stolen '' children lost contact with their families and heritage , received poor education , lived in harsh conditions , and often endured abuse . Watch one of these `` stolen '' children discuss this legacy '' `` There is nothing I can say today that will take away the pain ... Words are