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SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Prime Minister John Howard promised Thursday to hold a referendum giving constitutional recognition to Aborigines as Australia's first inhabitants — a major policy shift just weeks before elections.
But he again ruled out making a formal apology on behalf of the nation to Aborigines for past policies that included the forced removal of children from their families.
Howard's comments, made in a speech in Sydney, appeared to be a bid to raise Aboriginal affairs as a campaign issue and soften his image as unbending on a topic that polls show many Australians are more sympathetic about.
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