Letter to the Editor:
Sir Ronald Wilson's defence of Bringing Them Home, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) report on the "stolen generations" (Letters, 7-8 March), demonstrates some of the very faults that led to my criticisms of his report. Despite his claim, I have never stated that witnesses to the national inquiry may have been "confused". Rather, I said the report's definition of "stolen children" is "extremely confused".
Nor have I said witnesses may have been "lacking in credibility". Again, this was a criticism I made of his report because, among many other failings, it omitted crucial evidence, seriously misrepresented major sources, lacked rigour, and did not demonstrate that witness statements had been subjected to appropriate corroboration. These charges were carefully documented in my booklet, Betraying the Victims.
Zita Antonios (Letters, 7-8 March), states that the "misstatements and misrepresentations" of my booklet "are too numerous to catalogue in full". If she or HREOC provides me with even a sample, I would be very happy to respond. If she can identify genuine errors or misrepresentations, I am perfectly willing to amend the record as necessary.
Anyone reading my booklet can have no doubt that I regard the forcible removal of innocent children from caring families as totally indefensible, and that I believe the Aboriginal experience of such removals has contributed to an understandable legacy of bitterness that other Australians need to comprehend. It is because I believe it is such an important issue that I have condemned HREOC for preparing such an unworthy report.
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