Tomorrow's apology to the Stolen Generations is a key moment for Aboriginal Australians, but it is also a defining one for non-indigenous Australians. It is pivotal in the subterranean battle over what it is to be an Australian.
In the past 30 years we have been immersed in debates about Australian identity, but we have not always been so uncertain about who we are.
At Federation The Bulletin magazine was the flagship of nationalist sentiment. It painted a vivid picture of Australian identity and our uniqueness on the world stage. Our founding myth was of a small number of white people trying to occupy a vast continent in the midst of Asia.
However, while we were a British nation, we were not of the old world. Britain and Europe were marked by class hierarchies and a sharp divide between rich and poor. Australians aimed to escape those tyrannies by building a new egalitarian society. It was to be a place of genuine equality of opportunity for all.
In the early years we embraced our founding myth with little self-awareness that it was an equality between white men. The racism and sexism of the day were so entrenched as to be beyond question.
It was not until the 1960s and the beginning of the liberation movements that the tensions in Australia's founding myth were exposed. These movements pointed to our commitment to equality and argued that to live our principles we had to treat all groups as equal members of society. Australians were forced to choose between their commitment to equality and their commitment to being, as Robert Menzies declared, "British to our bootstraps."
Since then Australians have been divided into two camps, each battling to keep alive its half of the founding myth those deeply committed to equality and those defending a white British heritage.
The egalitarians have campaigned fervently for the end of discrimination against all manner of groups. They are not usually from the groups in question, but they are defending an ideal. For them, the apology is not about tearing down an image of Australia, it is about securing its foundations. In the wake of the evidence of the injustices to Aboriginal people, the only way to reclaim Australia's identity is to make amends. We must apologise and fix the problem so we can again speak of our ideal to be the fairest nation on Earth.
For those committed to a sense of Australia's British heritage, the apology goes beyond a slight against a proud history. It is also about including others as the legitimate voice of Australia. Giving Aborigines an equal seat at the table challenges their idea of Australian-ness. The advocates of a white identity have found voice by promoting colonial history, celebrating the Anzacs and the Union Jack-dominated flag as our key national symbols.
For this camp the emphasis on British heritage is about continuity, but the way it has been done is a significant break from our past. In Australia's earliest years there was a political consensus on the creation of a new egalitarian society. Australia's discriminatory assumptions lurked in the dark, unexamined corners of national discourse.
As the spotlight has been shone into those corners there has been a shift in political debate. Defenders of British heritage have increasingly argued against the bedrock principles of equality to justify the treatment of other groups. The anti-egalitarian rhetoric has spilled into the wider political debate. It has gone beyond discussions about race, and has penetrated debates in the economic realm. We have seen waves of economic reform downgrade the commitment to equality. A yawning gap has opened between rich and poor.
Australian politics is caught in a terrible quandary. While political pundits often line up on one side or the other, many Australians feel the tug to both sides.
The Howard government will forever be remembered for its prosecution of the history wars and reassertion of a white Australian identity a doctrine that kept it in office for a decade.
Howard was tumbled out over WorkChoices as Australians kicked back against the retreat from equality.
Social attitude surveys show a strong march towards a re-embracing of more egalitarian values. And the overwhelming majority supports the apology. A new phase is beginning in the battle over what it is to be truly Australian.
Dr Edwards is a political scientist from the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU.