History wars in Australia

The History Wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of European colonisation of the country, and on its impact on Aborigines. Two historians embody the debate. Keith Windschuttle who in his book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History published in 2002, disputed whether settlers of Australia committed genocide against Indigenous Australians. The second one is Stuart Macintyre who published a study on recent development in Australian historiography, The History Wars in 2003. The book was launched by former Prime Minister Paul Keating, who took the opportunity to criticise conservative views of Australian history. Document 1 is the text of the speech he held on this occasion. Document 2 is entitled "What is at stake in Australian History Wars – Keating versus Howard" and shows that the debate is not only about historiography, but also about competing political views. The last document is an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald that deals with the debate over the contents of the National Museum of Australia. All documents show that the debate over the past has far-reaching consequences on Australian domestic and international issues; this is why it can be seen as a way of fighting not only over the past, but also over the present, and the future of the country.