Mr Rudd told the House of Representatives there came a time in history when people had to reconcile the past with their future.

"Our nation Australia has reached such a time and that is why the parliament is today here assembled," he said.

"To deal with this unfinished business of the nation.

"To remove a great stain from the nation's soul and in the true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land Australia."

Before his speech, Mr Rudd formally moved that the House of Representatives apologise to Australia's indigenous peoples.

"We reflect on their past mistreatment," read the apology, the wording of which was released yesterday and which has received bipartisan support in parliament.

"We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

"We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country."

Mr Rudd said the apology was meant in the "true spirit of reconciliation, to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia."

"Last year I made a commitment to the Australian people that if we formed the next government of the commonwealth we would in parliament say sorry to the stolen generations," he said.

"I said we would do so early in the life of the new parliament...I honour that commitment by doing so at the commencement of the 42nd parliament of the commonwealth.

"Because the time has come, well and truly come, for all peoples of our great country, for all citizens of our great commonwealth, for all Australians - those who are indigenous and those who are not - to come together, to reconcile and together build a new future for our nation."

Unqualified apology

Mr Rudd also offered his 'unqualified apology' to the stolen generation in his speech.

"As prime minister of Australia, I am sorry.

"On behalf of the government of Austrlaia, I am sorry.

"On behalf of the parliament of Australia, I am sorry.

"I offer you this apology without qualification."

Bi-partisan approach needed

Mr Rudd called for the opposition join the government in forming the equivalent a war cabinet to tackled indigenous issues.

"I therefore propose a joint policy commission to be led by the leader of the opposition and myself," he said.

The prime minister said the commission would first develop and implement an effective housing strategy for remote communities during the next five years.

If that was successful the commission would then work on the constitutional recognition of first Australians.

"The nation is calling on us the politicians to move beyond our infantile bickering, our point scoring, our mindlessly partisan politics and elevate this one, at least this one, area of national responsibility to a rare position beyond the partisan divide."

Opposition's 'strong support'

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson also rose to speak "strongly" in support of the apology.

"Today our nation crosses a threshold.

"We formally offer an apology, we say sorry to those Aboriginal people forcibly removed from their families through the first seven decades of the 20th century," Dr Nelson said.

Dr Nelson urged other Australians to place themselves in the the shoes of the stolen generations and see the issue through their eyes "with decency and respect".

"This chapter in our nation's history is emblematic of much of the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians from the arrival of the first fleet in 1788," Dr Nelson said.

"It is one of two cultures.

"One ancient, proud and celebrating its deep bond with this land for some 60,000 years.

"The other, no less proud, arrived here with little more than visionary hope, deeply rooted in gritty determination to build an Australian nation, not just for its early settlers and indigenous people but those who would increasingly come from all parts of the world.

"Whether Australian by birth or immigration, each one of us has a duty to understand and respect what has been done in our name."In most cases, we do with great pride, but in others it is with shame."

Opposition 'shamed'

As Dr Nelson began speaking, some people in Parliament's Great Hall, outside the parliamentary chamber, turned their backs on the large screen on which the speech was being televised.

They began clapping and yelling "shame", and some started to walk out.

In Western Australia the broadcast Mr Nelson's reply was cut in Perth as Aboriginal people clapped to drown him out.

More than 1,000 people gathered just before dawn on the Perth esplanade in readiness for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology.

But midway through Dr Nelson's speech an Aboriginal woman, Catherine Coomer, started yelling out that the opposition leader was degrading Aboriginal people.

Ms Coomer stood up and turned her back to the screen broadcasting the opposition leader's parliamentary speech.

The crowd then began clapping loudly and the broadcast was unplugged.

Premier Alan Carpenter said afterwards it was unfortunate that Dr Nelson had missed the mark.

Source: AAP

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