| Stolen wages: news index (return to eniar.org stolenwages page) |
QLD Government’s insults Aboriginal workers again |
| Stolen Wages - ALERT - Queensland Government Round Two Payments 25 March 2008 - Announcement - In 2002, a reparations offer was made by the Queensland Government in the spirit of reconciliation. It recognised the historical injustices suffered by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders through the controls imposed by the successive governments over their wages and savings during the period from the 1890s to the early 1970s. |
| Unfinished business of wages at Wave Hill 15 December 2007 - The mob went on strike in 1966 and got their land back in 1975, but they're still waiting to be paid |
| Give us back our money 15 December 2007 - For many Aborigines, making amends for past loss is not just an emotional issue, but a financial one too, writes Joel Gibson. |
| A call for action on stolen generations issues 20 November 2007 - As the Federal Election looms when the result yet may see Australian voters close the Gap between the major parties, the National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC) urges whatever Federal Government is elected to action a whole of government approach in its first 100 days of office that commits to the following recommendations |
| Stolen wages fund should be used for health care: Aboriginal elder 10 October 2007 - A prominent Aboriginal leader says the Queensland Government should dip into the stolen wages compensation fund to provide free health care to Indigenous people in need. |
| Stolen wages a major barrier to reconciliation 30 August 2007 - To MOST Australians, the word "slavery" conjures up images of Africans in chains being taken across the Atlantic to work the cotton fields of America's Deep South. We struggle to comprehend that slavery is also part of our own nation's history. |
| Stolen Wages motion passes the Senate 21 June 2007 - Media Release - Democrats' Deputy Leader Senator Andrew Bartlett said that the successfulpassage through the Senate of his stolen wages motion today gives impetus to the issue as the Senate awaits the government's response to the SenateCommittee's report Unfinished Business: Indigenous Stolen Wages. |
| ANTAR Queensland
Stolen Wages camapign Senate Report 7 December 2006 - Unfinished business: Indigenous stolen wages |
| Stolen wages, slavery and talking truth 22 March 2007 - The issue of stolen wages and slavery hasn't captured the imagination of Australians or the media. DOUG HYND* explores why. |
| Our slave past 8 February 2007 - Late last year, the federal Senate handed down its findings from an inquiry into the stolen wages issue. But the report's long-overdue completion sparked the sort of political response you might expect from a Senate inquiry into navel lint. |
| Report calls for restitution of unpaid Indigenous wages 7 December 2006 - It's been likened to slave labour, the story of the Aboriginal and Islander Australians who were employed under protection acts throughout the 19th and much of the 20th century, for little or no pay. |
| Qld Govt urged to back pay underpaid Aboriginal workers 23 November 2006 - The north Queensland arm of the Stolen Wages Working Group says the State Government has no choice but to back-pay hundreds of underpaid Indigenous workers. |
| Senate
probes Indigenous 'stolen wages' 31 October 2006 - Four years ago, the Queensland Government apologised to Aboriginal people for so called stolen wages. It was a historic admission that millions of dollars held in trust for Aboriginal workers last century were poorly managed and even misappropriated. |
| Legal
action 'only option' for stolen wages claimants 25 October 2006 - The Senate inquiry examining the underpayment of millions of dollars in wages and welfare payments to Indigenous people has heard that litigation is the only way forward for claimants. |
| Rough justice over stolen wages: The
theft of Aboriginal pay is much worse than a breach of trust 14 October 2006 - IN May 2002, a group of senior Aboriginal figures waited uneasily to see Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. The meeting was to discuss a $180million claim for wages and savings that were lost, or stolen, from Aboriginal workers during much of the 20th century. |
| Trustees
on Trial: recovering the stolen wages 13 September 2006 - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission President John von Doussa QC will launch Dr Rosalind Kidd’s new book ‘Trustees on Trial: recovering the stolen wages’ in Brisbane on 14 September. |
| Senate
establishes Inquiry into Indigenous stolen wages 13 June 2006 - Senate tonight voted to hold an inquiry into the practice of state and territory governments with holding the wages of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers. |
| Carr fails again on wage theft 27 November 2004 - In March this year, NSW Premier Bob Carr gave his personal commitment that wages and savings stolen from Aboriginal people throughout much of the last century would be returned quickly and that those most in need would be moved to the front of the queue. Eight months down the track and seven years after the government first became aware of the thefts, Bob Carr - who earns around $200,000 a year - has still not repaid one single cent. |
| Stolen Wages A National Issue 9 August 2004 - Dr Rosalind Kidd, Center for Public Policy & Ideas, Griffith University - Today I want to give you the background for these offers. I'll look first at Queensland where we have a vast amount of evidence revealing official negligence, frauds and misuse of Aboriginal Trust monies. Then look briefly at whether financial controls in other states might reveal similar negligence and misuse. And close with the current position in our long fight for justice on what we call the Stolen Wages. |
| Repay the stolen wages! 2 August 2004 -The July 17 Courier Mail exposed the staggering depth of the state Labor government’s handouts of taxpayers’ money to some of Australia’s largest corporations conducting business in Queensland. A total of $21.5 million was handed out to 42 companies in “investment and incentive” grants last financial year. |
| War waged on black workers: Queensland Government
reconciles ... its bank balance 21 July 2004 - The Queensland Beattie government knew it owed Aboriginal workers more than $70 million in under-award wage reparations but kept the figure secret and instead offered to repay just $25.4 million which it branded a step towards reconciliation, a leaked cabinet document has revealed. The 1999 cabinet submission, obtained by NIT, also reveals the government's real motives in engaging a prominent Aboriginal organisation to put the government's offer to Indigenous Queenslanders - it was to ensure widespread publicity for the government's offer and, in the process, make it impossible for future under-award wage claims to succeed in court. |
| Task force hoping for quick payment of Aboriginal
wages 20 July 2004 - The New South Wales Government task force working on repayment of wages and payments withheld from Aboriginal workers and state wards says it hopes for quick payouts of monies due. • Aborigines to seek wage justice • Indigenous community may be owed millions |
| Doors open for closure on stolen wages 18 June 2004 - Stolen Wages Campaign Working Group - Members of the Stolen Wages Working Group who met with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Policy Minister Liddy Clark yesterday are feeling positive about a renewed commitment to finding closure for people affected by the stolen wages issue. |
| Qld Govt in 'stolen wages' talks 18 June 2004 - A Queensland "stolen wages" advocacy group has met state Indigenous Affairs Minister Liddy Clark. Last weekend, state Labor Party members unanimously passed a resolution to reconsider compensation for wages stolen from Indigenous workers. |
| Aboriginal wage claims need evidence 15 June 2004 - Aborigines seeking to claim back wages and payments stolen or lost by the NSW government could miss out if they don't have documentary evidence. This is despite the government having lost or destroyed their records. |
| Stolen Wages and Consequential Indigenous
Poverty: A National Issue 20 May 2004 - Kathleen Fitzpatrick Lecture - At last, the `Stolen wages’ issue is heating up after many frustrating decades of lobbying by Aboriginal people. Over the last 12 months it has begun a seismic shift from local Queensland concern about unpaid Aboriginal wages to an industrial wage justice issue of national significance encompassing swag of discriminatory practices. Litigation and a national public awareness campaign are in process and a national report documenting the history and legacy is now in the pipeline. |
| NSW Govt Must Make All Stolen Wages Records
Available 6 May 2004 - Senator Aden Ridgeway - The Australian Democrats have welcomed the beginning of the process to bring justice to NSW Aboriginal people over stolen wages and welfare benefits, but say the Government must make all of its records fully available to any potential claimants. |
| NSW stolen wages response 'outstrips'
Queensland 5 May 2004 - Stolen Wages Campaign Working Group Executive - The offer by NSW Premier Bob Carr to set up a process for paying back stolen wages, savings and money owed to Aboriginal people across that state far outstrips the equivalent process in Queensland say executive members of the Stolen Wages Working Group. |
| Press conference excerpt on Aboriginal
trust funds 5 May 2004 - Premier Bob Carr, Minister for Community Services, Carmel Tebbutt and Terri Janke - Money was stolen from Aboriginal people. We're seeking a criteria to have it returned to them with interest, without the loss of their right to sue, and without being capped. I think it's a fair outcome. |
| Aborigines seek lost wages worth $350m 5 May 2004 - Aboriginal leaders are preparing to launch a class action against the NSW government to recoup what they believe could be as much as $350 million in stolen wages. The move follows the government's declaration that potential claimants will have to provide evidence the money is owed to them, despite a secret ministerial report saying they shouldn't have to. • Who, how and how much - panel to assess return of Aborigines' stolen wages |
| Stolen Wages in NSW 17 April 2004 - Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation - For decades the NSW Government literally stole the money of Aboriginal people who it said were under its care and protection. The sums run to millions of dollars. Nothing yet has been done to fix this scandal. Bob Carr recently said he will find a solution. |
| Aborigines fight for their money back / In pictures: Victims and campaigners 7 April 2004 - BBC News - Over the past 15 years, Australian Aborigines have fought to receive official title to their ancestral lands and for governments to acknowledge the sad history of the removal of their children. Now they have a new target in their sights: the state-sanctioned confiscation of the wages earned by tens of thousands of Aboriginal workers for much of the 20th century. |
| Where are the stolen wages? 1 March 2004 - Something stopped the NSW Government from paying back money it took from the earnings of Aboriginal workers for 70 years. Debra Jopson exposes the mystery. Aborigines treated like Nazi slaves, says report |
| Qld and NSW governments promote theft from
Indigenous communities 1 March 2004 - ATSIC - First it was our lands that governments stole with no intention of ever returning them, then our cultures and identities — now it’s our hard-earned wages. Reports today that the governments in Queensland and New South Wales have had long-standing and detailed knowledge of the wages withheld by welfare bodies show they regard theft from Indigenous people as being acceptable. • NSW Premier should act on the return of stolen wages without delay - ATSIC |
| Busker set to battle Beattie 26 February 2004 - An indigenous rights campaigner and renowned inner-city busker today announced he would stand for Premier Peter Beattie's seat in the Queensland election. • Queensland Premier meets his match • Mall busker plays new tune • Queensland candidates stand for stolen wages |
| Give back stolen wages! 11 February 2004 - Calls for a national levy from former governor-generals and prime ministers, headlines in two states’ Sunday papers, supportive candidates in the Queensland state election, renewed grassroots support in Townsville and a furore over missing, unpaid and underpaid wages in New South Wales have all given a boost to the “stolen wages” campaign in the last month. |
| 'Stolen wage' case sparks court protest 6 February 2004 - Relatives of a leading Aboriginal boxer of the 1940s and 50s will find out next week if they can sue the State Government for $18 million in allegedly "stolen wages". |
| Marjorie awaits her back pay, 62 years late 5 February 2004 - All Marjorie Woodrow ever got back from the NSW Government trust fund holding four years' worth of her wages was £5. "It was for the material for my wedding dress," said Mrs Woodrow, one of more than 11,000 former state wards who could be owed a total of up to $69 million by the Government. |
| Aboriginal Australians owed millions 4 February 2004 - A leaked New South Wales Government report shows that Aboriginal people in the state are owed tens of millions of dollars. There are also fears that some of the money has been rorted by public servants and employers for many years. It's estimated that more than 11,000 indigenous Australians could be entitled to a share of the funds, amounting to as much as $70 million. |
| Invasion Day rally demands `repay stolen
wages' 4 February 2004 - The demand to repay the stolen wages of Aborigines who worked under successive Queensland governments from the 1890s to the 1970s was the central focus of this year’s Invasion Day rally, held at Emma Miller Place (Roma Street Forum) on January 26 |
| Stolen Wages - a campaign for justice / Interview with Lanora Jackson 2003 - National Tertiary Education Union (Queensland) - The National Tertiary Education Union (Queensland) is supporting a public campaign for justice for the generations of Aboriginal workers whose wages were stolen by the Queensland government. - Lanora Jackson tells of the injustice inflicted on generations of Aboriginal workers from the 1890s until the 1970s in Queensland. Her father Henry's story is just one of thousands. |
| Tales from the working life of Des Donley 5 November 2003 - The following summarises the hard and eventful early years and working life of Melrose Desmond (Des) Donley who is now retired and lives at Summerland Point in NSW. Des has kindly made his written recollections available to the Guardian and has been interviewed by on several occasions. |
| Stolen Wages Postcards Launched From Cairns 30 September 2003 - Aboriginal Coordinating Council - Thousands of stolen wages postcards will be distributed between the communities most affected by the issue following a launch of the public awareness campaign from the Aboriginal Coordinating Council meeting in Cairns this morning. |
| Queensland government rejects 1 in 4 stolen wages claims 3 September 2003 - One in four Aborigines who applied for compensation under Queensland's "stolen wages" scheme has been knocked back by the state Government. The high rejection rate for the $55 million reparations scheme has concerned Aboriginal lawyers, who want the rules relaxed. |
| Stolen Wages an industrial issue 13 August 2003 - On August 8, 300 protesters defied rain to hear Aboriginal leaders and union representatives launch the stolen wages postcard campaign. Chair of the rally, 4AAA Aboriginal community radio manager Tiger Bayles set the scene by stating, "Stolen wages in an industrial issue not a welfare issue". |
| Work and Wages - National Perspectives April 2003 - Dr Rosalind Kidd, Delivered speech at the University of Adelaide, April 2003 During most of the twentieth century, in every Australian state and territory, one group of people has been subjected to physical confinement and bureaucratic supervision on a scale otherwise applied only to the criminally culpable or the mentally deficient. Yet in almost every case these people had committed no crime. Without due process and without right of appeal they, and too often their children and grandchildren, were sentenced in perpetuity. For most people escape from this internment was conditional on walking away from family, country and culture. This was your reality if you were of Aboriginal descent. |
| Stolen wages activist accepts Government reparations offer 31 March 2003 - "They've given me up to 12 months to live, I have a death sentence and that was the thing that made me decide ... To put it bluntly I don't have the extra time to go and fight it in court but my heart is there and if I had that time I would be there fighting. |
| Boxer fights from grave for prize purses 12 March 2003 - Relatives of an Aboriginal boxer of the 1940s and ‘50s are suing the State Government for $18 million in “stolen wages”. They claim Elley Bennett, who won 40 fights by knockout, earned a fortune as a boxer but died a pauper after his money was apparently dissipated by a government agency supposedly protecting him. |
| Laywers warned on wages advice 6 March 2003 - Lawyers who advise claimants accepting the Queensland government’s reparations offer who do not recommend claimants obtain other independent legal advice could risk charges of negligence according to a Brisbane Lawyer. |
| Qld offer adds insult to injury 5 March 2003 - Although campaigns have taken years to engage the Government it is now attempting to expedite resolution - quite unfairly. Despite the importance of the decision to be made, claimants have only 24 hours to consider the advice they have been given. Although the terms for delivering advice say that claimants are not to be rushed or pressured - this is clearly not the case. |
| Black Lives Government Lies 12 February 2003 -The launch of the second edition of 'Black lives, government lies' by Dr Rosalind Kidd. |
| Investigators to report on national stolen wages case 22 January 2003 - A national team of investigators have commenced work on a report into the lost and stolen wages and savings issue. But the probe will go much further than the Queensland border, with the team setting its sights on determining whether Governments controlled and then lost or stole Indigenous money in all states and territories. |
| Unions back workers over Stolen Wages 20 January 2003 - National Tertiary Education Union - An online petition, critical of the Queensland Government¹s handling of the stolen wages issue, will be launched tomorrow at the Queensland Council of Unions. The petition, posted a week ago under the sponsorship of Member for South Brisbane Anna Bligh, has already drawn well over 100 signatures. |
First the wages were stolen, now justice has been lost |
| The Price of Reconciliation 5 December 2002 - We stole their land. We stole their children. Now we admit to stealing their money too. Is there anything left to take? Only the souls of a proud and defiant people have been spared and I think they would too have been taken if our governments knew how. |
| First the wages were stolen, now justice has been lost 4 December 2002 - National Indigenous Times - by Dr William Jonas AM - What would you do if the government decided that after you had paid tax you could only have 30% of your income and they would look after the rest for you? What if thirty years later they offered you $4000 or $2000 as compensation and said that if you accept it and promise not to take them to court they will also say sorry for any harm caused? |
| Stolen wage group turns back on Peter Beattie in Parliament 27 November 2002 - Grassroots Murri Action Group (GMAG) - A small but determined group of protesters today turned their backs on Queensland Premier Peter Beattie from the Gallery in Parliament to show how insulted they were by the government's offer of reparations for the wages and savings issue. |
| Not 'in the spirit of reconciliation' 22 November 2002 - Reconciliation QLD Inc (RQI) has objected to the repeated reference by the Queensland Government, to its offer of compensation to the victims of the "stolen wages" case as being "in the spirit of reconciliation." |
| Beattie stolen wages offer perpetuates injustice 22 November 2002 - ANTaR ~ Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation - The Queensland Government's decision to press ahead with its grossly unfair stolen wages offer is regrettable and will only serve to perpetuate injustice against Indigenous people, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) said today. |
| Queensland Government Reparations Offer: Wages and Savings 20 November 2002 - Dept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy - In the spirit of reconciliation, the Queensland Government has made an offer to people whose lives were affected by past Government policies which resulted in controls being exercised over the wages and savings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. |
| Historic Reparation Offer To Indigenous Queenslanders To Proceed 20 November 2002 - Premier & Trade: The Hon. Peter Beattie MP - The Beattie Government's historic offer of reparation to Indigenous Queenslanders who had their wages and savings controlled by former Queensland governments has been approved by State Cabinet and will now proceed. |
| Unions fight for payouts 11 November 2002 - The union movement has thrown its weight behind indigenous organisations fighting the Beattie Government over its $55.4 million offer to settle the stolen wages. |
| Statement by Dr William Jonas AM on the Qld 'stolen wages' issue 8 November 2002 - The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Dr William Jonas AM, today called on the Queensland government to delay plans to seek Cabinet approval for their proposed resolution of the Aboriginal 'stolen wages' issue until they have negotiated further with Indigenous groups. |
| Secret Country October 2002 - Oral history recordings are an inadequate tool in trying to find out what happened to Aboriginal stockmen and their communities on cattle stations in Northern Australia, writes Neale Towart. |
| Stolen Wages Campaign: UPDATE 9 October 2002 |
| Aborigines trapped by dole scheme: professor 5 October 2002 - The Aboriginal "work-for-the-dole" scheme is widely regarded by indigenous leaders as the principal poverty trap for their families and communities, leading anthropologist and activist Marcia Langton said last night. |
| A New Deal? Indigenous development and the politics of recovery 4 October 2002 - Dr Charles Perkins Memorial Oration. Delivered By Marcia Langton. |
| ‘Robbed Generation’ Seeks Stolen Wages 13 September 2002 - State governments face the largest back-pay claim in Australian history as indigenous Australians seek redress for more than 70 years of systematic under-payment. |
| ATSIC Stunned by Minister's Comments on Stolen Wages 9 September 2002 - A senior ATSIC official has expressed outrage at comments by Queensland Aboriginal Affairs Minister Judy Spence that monies stolen from Indigenous workers by previous Qld Governments hadbeen paid back in full by the 1990s. |
| Aboriginal councils and coalition to call on Government to account for stolen process on stolen wages 3 September 2002 - Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council - Representatives from the Aboriginal Coordinating Council, FAIRA and historian Dr Ros Kidd will call on the government today to account for itself over the recent "consultations" with communities concerning reparations for a century of missing wages and savings belonging to Aboriginal people. |
| Leak exposes wages 'rip-off' 20 June 2002 - A leaked document on the 'stolen wages' issue proved Aboriginal people were being ripped off in the Queensland Government's current offer of compensation, the Aboriginal Coordinating Council said yesterday. |
| Aborigines 'insulted' by lost wages compensation plan 13 June 2002 - Developing Australia's frontiers was often a back-breaking task that helped forge our national identity. Yet the thousands of indigenous workers who did their bit building the infrastructure and working the land were rarely paid the same as their white workmates. |
| Aboriginal community rejects wages compo offer 24 May 2002 - Aboriginal communities were unlikely to accept the Queensland government's compensation offer for wages and savings withheld by previous state policies, an indigenous leader said today |
| Working For the Man: Wages Lost to the Queensland Workers 'Under the Act' June 1996 - The Indigenous Law Bulletin - The kindest complexion one might put on the disposition of wages was that the government believed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were unable to manage their own affairs. However, this is not supported by the evidence. |
| Stolen wages: news index (return to eniar.org stolenwages page) |