home | news l

Indigenous leaders welcome about face on stolen wages

13 August 2008 - Reporter: Nicole Butler
TONY EASTLEY: Queensland's Indigenous leaders say they're stunned but pleased by the State Government's decision to re-open the stolen wages claims.

Earlier this year the Government announced that millions of dollars from its stolen wages fund would be spent on scholarships because too few people had applied for reparation.

At the time Indigenous communities described the move as shameful but they are pleased with the Government's backflip.

Nicole Butler reports.

NICOLE BUTLER: The Queensland Government knew Indigenous communities weren't happy when it announced an end to stolen wages claims in March; $55-million had been offered as reparation but less than $20-million had been paid out.

Premier Anna Bligh said many people didn't apply for compensation and she announced that much of the leftover money would be used to establish an Indigenous scholarship fund.

Ruth Hegarty from the Stolen Wages Working Group*(see editor's note) says the move outraged communities across the state.

RUTH HEGARTY: We didn't take that very well. We'd made a lot of noise and protested; had meetings with government and media.

NICOLE BUTLER: But the Brisbane elder says the group didn't hold much hope that the Government would reverse its decision.

RUTH HEGARTY: We felt that at the last meeting with the Premier that it was done deal; that there'd be nothing more we could do. But we did ask the Premier at the time that if she would just rethink about opening that whole process up again and perhaps even looking at some of the Aboriginal people that had put in an application and it had been rejected because there was no records.

That maybe they could look again at all of these folk and there were some people that didn't take the money because they felt it wasn't enough and that she should look at all of that before really, really closing it down.

NICOLE BUTLER: Now months later the Queensland Government has complied with campaigners' wishes. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr has announced the Government is re-opening stolen wages claims. She's invited new claimants to apply for payments of up to $7,000.

Ironically the Queensland Government's decision comes just days after the death of one of the state's most dedicated stolen wages campaigners. North Queensland woman Yvonne Butler spent years lobbying the Government. She died unexpectedly last week.

Fellow activist Florence Onus says it's a shame Ms Butler died before she got to see the Government "come around".

FLORENCE ONUS: I'm just a bit, you know, mind boggled with the decision, why they've all of a sudden turned around. I don't know if it's a bit of a guilt thing because they are aware that one of the major campaigners, Yvonne, had passed away. But I think it's a good thing for the community.

NICOLE BUTLER: Nonetheless Ms Onus says the compensation amount is nowhere near enough.

FLORENCE ONUS: According to all the records and what was owed to them, the $7,000 is just a drop in the ocean compared to what should have been paid back to them.

TONY EASTLEY: Indigenous activist Florence Onus ending that report by Nicole Butler.

*Editor's note: This transcript has been updated from today's radio broadcast to accurately identify the Stolen Wages Working Group's name.

Source: ABC AM Program

Further information: stolen wages issues page - includes news index and external links