February 13, Sorry Day, has just come and passed once again. As a tribute, Rocky Dabscheck remembers the many Australian politicians who have said sorry, for many different reasons and in more ways than one.
Here are a few examples, some better known than others, of our politicians doing the "mea culpa" over the years.
In no particular order.
13 February 2008
KEVIN RUDD: [In Parliament] To our First Nation People we say sorry.
3 April 2009
KEVIN RUDD: To the air hostess I say sorry... but, to be fair, I was ratfuck hungry.
30 July 2015
BRONWYN BISHOP:Sorry about the helicopter episode.
14 August 2015
BRONWYN BISHOP: Sorry for being late. Had to come by car. Since Abbott made me apologise over that helicopter saga, I’ve been told I have to pay for any helicopter trips from now on out of my own pocket. Forget it. How dare they do that to me. Just as well I had a few old cab vouchers up my sleeve.
JOHN HOWARD: I don’t say sorry.
JIM MOLAN: Me neither!
20 February 1942
ROBERT MENZIES: Sorry. I had no idea the Japanese would send our pig iron back to us like that.
27 June 1987
BILLY SNEDDEN: To my wife I say sorry.
21 December 1991
BOB HAWKE: I’m sorry for all those dry years without booze. I can finally get a skinfull again. Hallelujah.
10 October 2004
MARK LATHAM: Sorry for shaking Howard’s hand. I should have done to him what I did to that cab driver.
16 November 2017
CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Sorry for that late night tweet. Wasn’t me. I was asleep at the time. In fact, I remember I was counting submarines to help me fall asleep. One submarine. Two submarines. I know there are cliched stories about sailors, but seriously, it’s obvious this old hack got hacked, probably because I voted "Yes".
JOHN HOWARD: I don’t say sorry.
JIM MOLAN: I don’t either.
I'll never be sorry. #StolenGenerationshttps://t.co/7U09GxwljU
— Little Johnny Howard (@TheLyingRodent) February 12, 2018
16 January 2017
JULIE BISHOP: To all my dear friends at the Portsea Polo Day, I say sorry for my non appearance. For all the pain and suffering I have caused you – and me – I say sorry.
I promise never again will you, or I, suffer such an indignity. I am so sorry.
13 February 2008
JULIA GILLARD: To all people who saw me in camera shot, sitting behind Kevin Rudd as he addressed our nation, I say sorry for my awful hair cut. What was I thinking? I look like I am auditioning for a gig in a Devo tribute band. Tim will be in trouble when I get home. The style was his doing. Kevin may have thought I was trying to upstage him. I’d never do something like that.
13 January 2018
DAVID FEENEY: To my electorate, my party, and my leader Bill Shorten, I say sorry for my recent stuff up.
I also say sorry for my stuff up in 2016, when I forgot all about my house in Northcote. Fuck it. I’ve just remembered. I buried the papers from the British High Commission acknowledging my renunciation of British citizenship in a tin container in the backyard of that place. Fuck! Oh well, it’s too late now. If only I’d remembered earlier.
20 October 2015
TONY ABBOTT: Sorry about breaking that table in my office, but I’m sure you can all understand how tired and emotional I was at the time.
15 November 2017
ABBOTT : This country owes me one fucking big sorry. Voting yes. Disgracefull.
JOHN HOWARD: I never say sorry.
JIM MOLAN: Nor me.
& this Berk expects an apology for having his well documented crimes against innocents named. https://t.co/sqBag8gBS2
— Ray Wilton (@raywilton4) February 13, 2018
5 August 2016
SAM DASTYARI: Sorry if I “misspoke’ about the South China Seas and China’s stance. Really, really sorry.
11 December 2017
SAM DASTYARI: Me again. To show you I really really mean it when I say sorry, I have decided to quit Parliament. Sorry to everyone who believed in me.
25 January 2018
SAM DASTYARI: Me again. I’m off now. Cleared my desk. Gone for good. Sorry it’s taken so long to say “so long.”
Working on a few ideas. Maybe a talk show of my own somewhere in China. Stay tuned.
7 February 2018
MALCOLM TURNBULL: Sorry for leaving the ‘Closing The Gap’ event in Parliament House early, but Lucy messaged me that I forgot to put the bins out, and I only had half an hour before the garbage truck arrived.
11 November 1975
GOUGH WHITLAM: Men and women of Australia. I say sorry for my fucking abysmal choice of Governor General.
13 February 2018
BARNABY JOYCE: To Natalie and the girls, and Vikki, I say sorry. To the people of Australia I say sorry for my truly horrible dress sense.
JOHN HOWARD: I don’t say sorry.
JIM MOLAN: Me either.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: When it comes to saying sorry, none have come close to The Easybeats.
Rocky Dabscheck is a musician/songwriter and front person for Rocky and The Two Bob Millionaires. He is also the author of Stoney Broke and the Hi-Spenders.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
Monthly Donation
Single Donation
.@Barnaby_Joyce has made a very public apology to his former wife, his daughters, and his pregnant girlfriend - who he says is now officially his partner. @Riley7News #7News pic.twitter.com/PAU21BkB5X
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) February 13, 2018
No need to apologise. Subscribe to IA.
Mate helping out a mate, eh, James?
— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) February 21, 2018
