Aboriginal leaders welcome apology

Aboriginal leaders on Thursday welcomed a new era of indigenous relations in Australia with a new government that will acknowledge traditional owners and apologize for past injustices when Parliament resumes this month.

The first time in the Parliament's 107-year history, the traditional owners of the national capital Canberra have been asked to welcome lawmakers to their country when Parliament resumes on February 12 for the first time since the center-left Labor Party won elections in November.

"It's a great privilege and honor," said Matilda House, a Canberra Aboriginal elder who will give a speech welcoming lawmakers to Parliament House on behalf of her Ngunnawal tribe.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/31/australia.aborigines.ap/index.html