Rudd to apologise to Aborigines

Mr Rudd, whose Labor Party swept to power in an election on Saturday, said the apology would come early in his first parliamentary term.

Outgoing Prime Minister John Howard had repeatedly refused to say sorry.

Votes are still being counted in Mr Howard's constituency, where he faces losing his seat to a former TV host.

'Humiliating' defeat

Indigenous Australians remain an impoverished minority, with a much lower life expectancy than the rest of the population.

Thousands of Aboriginal children were handed over to white families under Australian government assimilation policies from 1915 to 1969.

The issue continues to be a controversial one among Australians.

Mr Howard held back from offering a full apology to the so-called Stolen Generations, saying the current generation should not feel guilty about mistakes from the past.