The apology would be a milestone on an issue that has divided Australians for decades.

The Feb. 13 apology to the so-called "stolen generations" of Aborigines will be the first item of business for the new Parliament, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said.

"The apology will be made on behalf of the Australian government and does not attribute guilt to the current generation of Australian people," Macklin said in a statement.

While the new government is swiftly responding to decade-old calls for an apology, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is refusing demands from some Aboriginal leaders to pay compensation for the suffering of broken families.

Activist Michael Mansell, who is legal director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Center, has urged the government to set up a 1 billion Australian dollar (US$882 million; euro601 million) compensation fund.

Christine King, from the Stolen Generations Alliance, one of the key indigenous groups the government has consulted in crafting the apology, said she was "overwhelmed" that a date had finally been set.

"Older people thought they would never live to see this day," King said through tears. "It’s very emotional for me and it’s very important."

Barbara Livesey, chief executive of Reconciliation Australia, a government-commissioned agency tasked with bringing black and white Australians together, said the apology on the day after Parliament resumes for the first time since November elections would be a historic moment.

"It’s a moment that all Australians should feel incredibly proud of, that we’re recognizing the mistakes of the past," she said.

But opposition leader Brendan Nelson, whose conservative Liberal Party was thrown out of office in November after almost 12 years in power, questioned whether the apology deserved to be the new government’s first item of business.

Macklin said she had sought broad input on the wording of the apology, which she hoped would signal the beginning of a new relationship between mainstream Australia and its Aboriginal minority.

"Once we establish this respect, the government can work with indigenous communities to improve services aimed at closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians," she said.