Every Australian state government has issued an apology and no compensation claims have yet been lodged. The outgoing conservative Prime Minister John Howard, swept from power at the elections over the weekend after 11 years, refused to apologise to the indigenous children taken from their homes and fostered to white families in what became known as the Stolen Generation. Howard rejected an apology because the removal of aboriginal children between the 1870s and 1960s was done by past governments and could open the door to expensive compensation claims. Australia’s prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd is set to repair race relations with Aborigines by saying ‘sorry’ for past injustices, ending more than a decade of bitter division over racial reconciliation. ‘We will do that in order to build a bridge. Then you can use that bridge to start doing some practical things like closing the gap in life expectancy between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australia. I’m not just into symbols for symbols’ sake.’
   Dodson, now head of Reconciliation Australia, said he was confident Rudd was sincere in his commitment to close the 17-year life expectancy gap between white Australians and the country’s 460,000 Aborigines and indigenous Torres Strait Islanders.
   Dr Abdul Ruff Colachal
   Delhi, India

As the price goes up with the reduction in supply, some people will be left out of the market altogether while some people will be forced to lower consumption.
   It is true that in a market economy, the government does not have much control over the prices. But it does have a regulatory function to play by making sure that some people do not make windfall profit by manipulating the market. And making money through corrupt practices like hoarding is not an act immune to law in the market economy. It is true that making profit is the fundamental basis of market economy, but not illegal profit from hoarding.
   What makes the recent price hike so unique is its magnitude. Such a large price increase has been unprecedented. And the government’s inaction has to be blamed partly for that. The government does have a responsibility to make sure that unscrupulous traders do not manipulate the market. The government should also check the extortions taking place that push up the cost of supply. And it should make sure that the transport owners do not put unnecessary pressure on the traders by imposing irrational transport fares.
   What is important for the government is to make sure that the market forces operate freely without any undue influence from any vested quarter.
   Rahman
   Dhaka

The local government reformation committee proposed the reservation of 40 per cent seats for women in the local government. Although the proposal appears to be sound, it doesn’t appear practicable in view of the social condition prevailing in the rural areas of the country.
   Previously, we observed three female ward commissioners who were inactive and used to remain absent in the UP meetings. Most of the female commissioners were housewives of influential persons or workers of some political parties or close relatives of the chairman with little education and understanding of the governance of a local body or its office.
   There is no point showing that we believe in women’s empowerment by proposing a higher quota unless those we elect are capable, competent and sincere enough to carry out their responsibilities.
   Kumar Prithwiraj Nath
   Toronto, Canada