Howard Thinking of His Legacy?

When John Howard met this afternoon with retired indigenous AFL footballer, Michael Long, and Long subsequently leaves the meeting describing .....

... the talks as open and honest and [they] shared a lot of common ground.

.... I start to think that the PM may be considering retirement during this parliamentary term.

Long walked two thirds of the distance from Melbourne to Canberra in his bid to get a meeting with Howard to discuss the deteriorating conditions in local Aboriginal communities.

Long also said ..

"We're not divided at all (about) the change that needs to work at the local level, we recognise that."

"Obviously the prime minister is prepared to have further talks, so the journey is still beginning."

Lets face it, the PM hasn't exactly been a mover or shaker regarding Aboriginal reconciliation. He's constantly refused to acknowledge the wrong of the stolen generations, and his government has consistently attacked ATSIC. The government's position on Aboriginal affairs is one of paternalism rather than self determination.

When I first heard about Long's walk to gain a meeting with the Howard, I thought his wait to see Howard once he arrived in Canberra would be greater than the time it took to walk from Melbourne.

Is Howard starting to think of the way history will see him after he bows out, or is the exercise a cynical move to short circuit any adverse publicity that Long's walk would generate? On form, you'd have to go with the latter.

If Howard starts hinting that an Australian Head of State is not that far away, that the US were perhaps a bit unprepared when they invaded Iraq, and acknowledges that something needs to be done to limit green house emissions, expect Kirribilli House to be vacant by Chrismas 2005.