"Accordingly, I believe it is right and proper to make an apology to you on behalf of the government, " he said.

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We live in a world where it's now a surprise to hear of a company listening to its users, issuing an apology and vowing to make it better.

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When Graeme Morris, John Howard's former chief of staff, called the popular ABC current affairs presenter Leigh Sales "a cow" after she had subjected Tony Abbott to a tough interview, he was forced to make an apology.

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In an interview, Lenny said because Greene had served notice to LB Property that he was "going forward" with the fraud claims in arbitration Greene was not obligated to make an apology.

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Mr. KILLIAN: I think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel throughout the entire country who took offense to this.

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Even if the president were not to make an outright apology for the allied bombings, he could hardly not mention them in this city so preoccupied with its wartime history.

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Mr Latham's earlier pledges to make a formal apology to aborigines and to restart the debate on an Australian republic have barely featured in his campaign.

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And the President believed that it was in the best interests of their safety to make it clear that an apology was appropriate, and that the American people and the American military in particular does have respect for the religious views and the religious practices of the Afghan people.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest

So my guess is that those kinds of discussions are not altogether different, that I think President Bush was making -- reaching the same calculation, which is that it would be in the best interests of the safety and welfare of our American servicemen and women to issue an apology and make it clear that those actions were unintentional.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest

In 2008 Mr Rudd, soon after becoming prime minister, did make an apology, supported by the Liberal Party, which seems to have gone down well, especially among the indigenous population.

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