Reconciliation between white and indigenous people in Australia is a bitter joke, feminist Germaine Greer said tonight.
Ms Greer, speaking to about 2,000 people at the Melbourne Writers' Festival at the Melbourne Town Hall, said indigenous Australians had never accepted the apology by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for the stolen generation.
"Saying sorry was something (Mr Rudd) needed to say, but he didn't quite say sorry for the right things," Ms Greer said.
"He said sorry to the stolen generation, but he didn't say sorry to the huge disruption that gave birth to the stolen generation.
"Reconciliation is a bitter joke which nobody is laughing at."
She said while an important thing about the apology was to make Australians feel better, even more important was that Aboriginal people were seen to accept it.
"But they didn't, and nobody asked them," Ms Greer said.
"It is not enough to say sorry - we haven't got to first base in saying sorry, yet."
She said a treaty had to be set up with indigenous Australians and it had to be conducted with respect and dignity.
"Man to man, equal person to equal person," she said.
"We have to make ourselves listen, instead of forever telling Aboriginal people what is in their best interests."
She said white Australia had destroyed Aborigines' languages and their English skills were lacking because "we educated them so badly".
She said the treaty had to be established at a political level and politicians may have to sit with Aborigines for weeks before learning what they want.
"If we go to listen to them we will have to be patient, because it won't come all at once. It may take weeks before people begin to speak to us and the words they say we won't like," Ms Greer said.
"The words they say won't make us feel good. They won't be words that congratulate us."
