Between the commissioning of the National Inquiry and the release of the final report in 1997 , the government of John Howard had replaced the Paul Keating government . At the Australian Reconciliation Convention in May 1997 , Howard was quoted as saying : " Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies . " Following publication of the report , the parliament of the Northern Territory and the state parliaments of Victoria , South Australia , and New South Wales passed formal apologies to the Aborigines affected . On 26 May 1998 , the first " National Sorry Day " was held ; reconciliation events were held nationally , and attended by a total of more than one million people . As public pressure continued to increase on the government , Howard drafted a motion of " deep and sincere regret over the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents " , which was passed by the federal parliament in August 1999 . Howard said that the Stolen Generation represented " the most blemished chapter in the history of this country . " Activists took the issue of the Stolen Generations to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights . At its hearing on this subject in July 2000 , the Commission on Human Rights strongly criticised the Howard government for its handling of issues related to the Stolen Generations . The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded its discussion of Australia 's 12th report on its actions by acknowledging " the measures taken to facilitate family reunion and to improve counselling and family support services for the victims " , but expressed concern : that the Commonwealth Government does not support a formal national apology and that it considers inappropriate the provision of monetary compensation for those forcibly and unjustifiably separated from their families , on the grounds that such practices were sanctioned by law at the time and were intended to " assist the people whom they affected " . The Committee recommended " that the State party consider the need to address appropriately the extraordinary harm inflicted by these racially discriminatory practices . " Activists highlighted the Stolen Generations and related Aboriginal issues during the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics . They set up a large " Aboriginal Tent City " on the grounds of Sydney University to bring attention to Aboriginal issues in general . Cathy Freeman is an Aboriginal athlete who was chosen to light the Olympic flame and won the gold medal in the 400 metre sprint . In interviews , she said that her own grandmother was a victim of forced removal . The internationally successful rock group Midnight Oil attracted worldwide media interest by performing at the Olympic closing ceremony in black sweatsuits with the word " SORRY " emblazoned across them
Olympic closing ceremony
2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
Stolen Generations