news | action | information | events | contact | search | news | action | information | events | contact | search |
| Stolen Wages National Situation Round-up May 2003 VICTORIA "The Victorian Government is not aware of any claims of this nature however we will be monitoring the situation with interest." Spokesperson for Victorian Government. STATUS: When Beattie announced his offer, Bracks was on record saying he was watching it unfold with interest (for no apparent reason). Believed to be similar to NSW. NEW SOUTH WALES Government has never formally responded to requests for interview by NIT, but big advances recently made. There¹s an offer currently being developed called "Payback" but NSW Govt keeping it under huge wraps. Strong evidence within NSW archives and overwhelming anecdotal evidence about control and loss of wages. Centres largely around former wards of the state, but also former wards of the Aborigines Protection Board, and later the Aborigines Welfare Board. A rapidly expanding number of people are harassing Govt for their files, half a dozen of whom are in regular contact with NIT. Marjorie Woddrow (elder from Central Coast) is currently receiving legal advice about her status, which should be known in a few weeks. Les Ridgeway (cousin of Aden) is also pursuing the issue, particularly in relation to child endowment monies. NSW Govt has a list (as does NIT) of names of 645 people who were owed child endowment monies totalling more than 6,000 pounds. In today¹s terms worth up to $80 million. Behind Qld, NSW is the most advanced at this stage. TASMANIA "This is clearly a matter for the Queensland Government. The only impact for Tasmania would be if there were Aborigines or Torres Strait Islanders affected by this policy now living in Tasmania." Spokesperson for Tasmanian Premier, Jim Bacon STATUS: Not well known, but anecdotally similar to other states such as Victoria. SOUTH AUSTRALIA "We have had no claims along the same lines as has been made in Queensland. But obviously our State Department of Aboriginal Affairs will keep watching this issue as it develops." Spokesperson for Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Terry Roberts. STATUS: Lois O'Donoghue, for example, is a potential claimant. Strong anecdotal evidence similar to NSW. Availability of files unknown but there are a number of 'experts' on Aboriginal archives based in Adelaide. WESTERN AUSTRALIA "To date, the West Australian Government has only a general knowledge of this issue through various media reports. The West Australian Government is not aware of any similar claims from Indigenous Western Australians and has therefore not made plans for dealing with this type of claim." Spokesperson for Premier, Geoff Gallop STATUS: WA is regarded as the closest to Queensland in terms of the level of control of Indigenous people (and their money). Thought that there¹s less affected... ie figures of around 5,000 alive today who might be elligible claimants. Academic Anna Haebich is regarded as the leading expert on WA. NORTHERN TERRITORY "Indigenous Australians living in the Northern Territory who believe they have a claim in relation to lost and stolen wages and savings, or underpayment of award wages need to direct their enquiries to the Federal Government. By the time the Northern Territory became self governing in 197 8 equal pay and conditions were already in place." Spokesperson for Chief Minister, Clare Martin. STATUS: Strong anecdotal evidence exists that wages and savings were controlled and are now missing. Award wages also a big issue in NT. Protection Officers still alive today, but they swear all money owed was received. NT is important because it drags the Federal Government into the issue. AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Indigenous Australians living in the ACT who believe they have a claim in relation to lost and stolen wages and savings or underpayment of award wages should also direct their enquiries to the Federal Government. The ACT only attained self-governance in the late 1980s, long after equal pay and conditions were imposed on Governments. COMMONWEALTH "In terms of the Northern Territory we've made some enquiries and at this stage we are not aware of any claims or any similar cases against the Commonwealth in regards to this type of matter. We'll certainly take an interest in what is happening in other states as we would with any legal development." Spokesperson for Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Phillip Ruddock. Source: National Indigenous Times Stolen Wages Update by Dr Ros Kidd ANTaR Qld Newsletter Last year's difficult and time-consuming struggle to keep the communities, the public and the media informed has taken a considerable toll on people's energy and spirits. We did not succeed in forcing the Beattie government to negotiate a better offer, but we did counter the many misleading statements from government spokespersons, and we have certainly put Stolen Wages in the public¹s mind as a fight for wages earned but intercepted by governments and still unaccounted for. This is something to be proud of. The offer must run now its course: the money has been promised and people will soon sign forms to establish their right to claim. The government is holding to its demand that claimants sign an indemnity forfeiting rights to future legal redress. It's claim that interviews with government-appointed lawyers denote "independent" legal advice for claimants has been disparaged by experts such as Terry O'Gorman, who warns those lawyers might themselves be subject to legal action if they do not advise claimants to consider the full context of this offer their personal financial history, the wealth of incriminating evidence against government management, the Stolen Wages casealready settled, and the almost universal opinion, also expressed by both the premier and the minister, that the amount is insufficient to "suitably compensate" those who sufferedunder the "protection" regime. The fight will continue to have the indemnity dropped or cancelled so that people who take this down payment retain their fundamental right to pursue further legal avenues of justice once they are in full knowledge of the circumstances. In early December strong articles supporting our fight for justice were written by Dr William Jonas, ATSIC Social Justice Commissioner with HREOC, and by Justice Marcus Einfeld, internationally known for his stand on human rights issues (see ANTaR website for links: http://antar.dovenetq.net.au.) From Marcus Einfeld's article has developed the call for a National Report into labour and wages in each state, as a platform from which eminent persons will demand a full federal inquiry. The Report will have a base in each state, and details will be publicised as it gets organised. In Queensland there are moves to establish a Reparations Tribunal which will provide a forum for people to talk about their experiences of \contracted labour across generations. Again this is in the early stages. And following meetings with legal personnel during the latter half of 2002, several firms have offered their services and are preparing challenges for missing wages on a range of points. All these things take time. But each is a significant development in our struggle, which is now being fought on several fronts as well as nationally. Interest and commitment is building. This is going to be a very interesting year. Email:Dr Ros Kidd What can I do? See addresses to write to ››
Further information:
|  Support the Stolen Wages campaign. From 1904 to 1987, the Queensland Government withheld or underpaid wages earned by Aboriginal workers; a fraction has been offered as a settlement. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. ›› Latest
|
|
ours + others photo 