Wilson's 1997 report has polarised opponents and supporters of Aboriginal causes here ever since. The report is based on testimony of Aborigines describing the effects of their removal from their families as a result of government policies dating from the early 20th century until the 1960s. But in an interview published in the Bulletin magazine, Wilson says the furore surrounding his decision to place the treatment of Aborigines on a par with the Holocaust ultimately blunted his message.
Genocide is very much a side issue.
No-one challenges that dreadful consequences followed these policies. Once you latch onto the term 'genocide', you're arguing about the intent and we should never have used it. Prime Minister John Howard has persistently refused to formally apologise to the Stolen Generations, although some of his ministers and most state governments have. Howard says he does not believe in inter-generational guilt, and that any such apology would leave the government vulnerable to a compensation claim. Wilson found many of the children removed from their homes under state and federal policies were sexually, emotionally or physically abused in the institutions or homes to which they were sent.