EACH YEAR, ON a particular day in May, crowds gather in major Australian cities trying to get the government to say sorry to the Aborigines. So far, every administration has refused. Now, in this forcefully argued book, Germaine Greer takes the cause a stage further. She proposes an Aborigine Republic of Australia.

Her argument is that many key Australian characteristics derive from the Aborigines. The Aborigine's belief in reciprocity and fairness ('fair dinkum' in contemporary Australian usage), their generosity and their appreciation of endurance, skill and courage are all present-day cornerstone Australian qualities. Even the reticence that is at the heart of