Howard walks while we say sorry

By Samantha Maiden and John Stapleton 

John Howard was on his morning walk in Wollstonecraft as the nation prepared to say sorry. Photo: James Croucher Source: The Australian

FORMER Prime Minister John Howard boycotted today’s historic apology to the Stolen Generations but still found time to go for his traditional morning walk.

It was a day like any other for Australia’s second longest serving former Prime Minister.

Instead of being in the nation’s capital preparing for one of the most historic moments in Australia’s history, this morning The Australian found Mr Howard out for his normal walk around the streets of Wollstonecraft.

Accompanied by security personnel walking in front and behind him, and with a security car also following in his tracks, Mr Howard strode up and down the suburban streets near his home taking his morning constitutional.

Asked if he wished he was in parliament today, John Howard did not break stride, saying “good morning” as he ploughed on up a hill near his home.

By 8am he was back at his $2 million residence, turning the lights in his front study and preparing for his day.

A spokeswoman said Mr Howard had commitments in Sydney today and had informed “them” last week he would not be going down to Canberra for the event. She said Mr Howard was refusing to comment on the national apology.

Mr Howard was the only living former Prime Minister not to attend today.

At Redfern Community Centre, where a thousand people gathered to watch the apology on a large screen, a picture of John Howard which appeared on the screen prompted instant and spirited booing from the crowd.

Former Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and former governor-general William Deane attended the historic event, sitting on the floor of Parliament House along with Aboriginal leaders who were embraced by Mr Rudd and Liberal leader Brendan Nelson after the apology.

But several Liberal MPs, including Wilson Tuckey, Don Randall, Alby Schultz, Dennis Jensen, and Sophie Mirabella, were not in the chamber for the apology and appear to have boycotted the event.

Mr Tuckey, who loudly recited the Lord’s prayer before the apology commenced, said today he wasn’t interested in “tokenism”.

Later, Liberal Senate leader Nick Minchin told Parliament that Mr Howard should not be blamed for his government’s failure to say sorry.

“John Howard was not the barrier to an apology,” Senator Minchin said.

“If there was any failure on our part it was in relation to the significance of symbolism in helping our indigenous communities to move forward.

“We were unashamedly focused on practical outcomes but we can now acknowledge that that was at the expense of important symbolic acts.”