Keating urges Aboriginal rights

The Prime Minister, Paul Keating, urged Australians to right the historical wrongs committed against Aborigines, but not to bear the guilt of the country's brutal past, Reuter reports from Canberra.

In a televised address that included historical pictures of Aborigines in chains, Mr Keating said a High Court ruling in 1992 recognising Aboriginal native land title had given people the chance to 'heal a source of bitterness' between white and black Australians. The ruling has sparked a bitter debate, with business, mining and conservative political leaders predicting dire economic consequences if Aborigines gained rights to land taken from them by white settlers.