There have been emotional scenes in Federal Parliament, where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has delivered his long-awaited apology to Australia's Stolen Generations.

Mr Rudd turned and applauded members of the Stolen Generations in the public gallery after delivering an emotional address to the House of Representatives in which he spoke of the "profound grief, suffering and loss" experienced by Australia's Indigenous people.

The House rose as one to applaud Mr Rudd's speech.

Parliament also applauded the speech given by Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson but the hundreds of people who were gathered in the Great Hall and outside on the lawns of Parliament House gave him a hostile reception.

Many in the Great Hall began by booing and jeering, then turning their backs on the big screens carrying Dr Nelson's address. Some walked out in protest during Dr Nelson's speech.

In Federation Square about three-quarters of the crowd turned their back on Dr Nelson.

Mr Rudd opened proceedings by offering an unconditional apology to the Stolen Generations, talking about tens of thousands of children separated from their families and repeating the word "sorry" on three occasions in the formal apology.

He called on the Opposition to join in a 'war cabinet' to deal with Aboriginal housing issues and matters of constitutional change and spoke of moving into the future with "arms extended" rather than with "fists still raised".

Dr Nelson used his speech to warn against judging actions of the past by the standards of the present and said it was correct that no compensation was being offered, because he said no money could compensate for the hurt inflicted on those removed from their families.

'We say sorry'

Addressing a packed House of Representatives this morning, Mr Rudd said the Parliament apologised for laws and policies which had "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians."

"For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry," he said.

"To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

"And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry."

As Mr Rudd was speaking hundreds of people had gathered outside Parliament House to watch events unfold on big screens.

"We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation," Mr Rudd continued.

"For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

"We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians."

"... A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

Mr Rudd says the apology is being made to "remove a great stain on the soul of the nation.

"The time has come, well and truly come, for all peoples of our great country ... all Australians, those who are Indigenous and those who are not, to come together, to reconcile, and build a future for our great nation."

'Sheer brutality'

Mr Rudd told the chamber the moving story of one member of the Stolen Generations, taken from her family in the Northern Territory.

He spoke of the "sheer brutality" of separating a mother from her children, which he described as "a deep assault on our senses and our most elemental humanity".

In an attack on the government of John Howard, he said it had treated the Stolen Generations with a "stony, stubborn and deafening silence for more than a decade".

"[There was] a view that we should look for any pretext to push this great wrong to one side," he said.

"To leave it languishing with the ... academics and the 'cultural warriors', for who the Stolen Generations are little more than an interesting sociological phenomenon.

"But as of today the time for denial is at last come to an end."

Fair go

Mr Rudd says reconciliation is a reflection of a core tenet of Australian society: the concept of a fair go for all.

"For our nation, the course of action is clear ... and that is to deal now with what has become one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history."

"In doing so, we are also wrestling with our own souls.

"As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the Government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry. And I offer you this apology without qualification."

Mr Rudd said he hoped today's apology would open a new era in Australian history.

"We have had sufficient audacity and faith to advance part way to that future, with arms extended rather than with fists still clenched," he said.

"Let us allow this day of national reconciliation to become one of those rare moments in which we might just be able to transform the way in which the nation thinks about itself.

"For the nation to bring the first two centuries of our settled history to a close ... and embrace with awe these ancient cultures which we are blessed, truly blessed to have among us."

Mr Rudd's speech was greeted with prolonged applause from both sides of the House and from those gathered outside.

Good intentions

Responding to the motion, Dr Nelson warned against judging actions of the past by the standards of the present day.

"Each one of us has a duty to understand what has been done in our names," he said.

"Our responsibility, every one of us, is to understand what happened here. Our generation does not own these actions. Nor should it feel guilt for what was done, in many cases, with the best intentions."

Speaking of the early settlers who founded the modern nation of Australia, and the Indigenous people they encountered, he said: "We cannot from the comfort of the 21st century begin to imagine what they overcame - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - to give us what we have and make us what we are."

And he referred to Opposition unease about the use of the word "Stolen".

"Many Australians are hurt by accusations of theft, in relation to their good intentions," he said.

"None of us should bring a sense of moral superiority to this debate."

Like Mr Rudd, Dr Nelson recounted the story of a member of the Stolen Generations.

Speaking of a child taken from her father, he said she did not want people to say "sorry" to her. But she wanted people to understand the enormous pain the separation caused her.

And he said there should be no monetary compensation because no compensation fund could erase that pain.

Dr Nelson pledged his "unconditional support" for Mr Rudd's 'war cabinet' proposal.

"This is far, far more important than anything that would normally divide us," he said.

And he finished his address by saying: "As one people, we are sorry" before shaking hands with Mr Rudd across the dispatch box.