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Stolen Wages in
Victoria
National
background
Governments around Australia
controlled wages, savings and benefits belonging to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people for most of the 20th century. Payments
withheld included child endowment, pensions and even soldiers' pay.
Much of the money held in trust was withheld from its owners. Trust
account funds were transferred to public revenue, or disappeared
through fraud or negligence along with many of the records.
This practice condemned generations of Indigenous families to lives
of poverty at the same time as their labour was used to establish
lucrative industries such as beef cattle and pearling.
In Queensland alone, it has been estimated that as much as $500
million in today’s value was lost or stolen from Indigenous
families.
To date only the Queensland and NSW Governments have established
schemes to enable Indigenous people recover all or part of the wages
withheld from them, while action has begun urging the Victorian
Government to look into the issue. The Queensland scheme in particular
has been widely criticized by Indigenous people because it has offered
to repay only a fraction of what is owed to claimants as a “gesture
of reconciliation”.
(Source:ANTaR
Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Inquiry into Stolen Wages, 2006)
National Senate Inquiry
In 2006, a National Senate
Inquiry into Indigenous stolen wages commenced after a great deal
of lobbying from ANTaR, political parties and other Indigenous groups
nationwide.
On 13 June 2006, the Senate passed a motion, introduced by Democrats
Senator, Andrew Bartlett, to conduct an inquiry into stolen wages.
The Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee recieved
129 submissions and conducted Public Hearings and produced a report
which included six recommendations beginning with the recommendation
"that the Commonwealth Government and state governments facilitate
unhindered access to their archives for Indigenous people and their
representatives for the purposes of researching the Indigenous stolen
wages issue as a matter of urgency".
- Download ANTaR National's submission to the Senate Inquiry
- Download the Senate Committee's report Unfinished business: Indigenous
stolen wages
Stolen
wages in Victoria
The Wampan Wages: Victorian
Stolen Wages Working Group, developed a Victorian response to the
National Senate Inquiry. This group is made up of Indigenous and
non-Indigenous people who have an interest in stolen wages and Indigenous
justice, including some members of of ANTaR Victoria. (Wampan Wages
means pay back wages.)
This response included evidence gathered from a preliminary search
of historical records, Legislation and Regulations which indicate
that wages and pension entitlements were denied to Indigenous people
in Victoria.
The group also sent a proposal to the Victorian Minister for Aboriginal
Affairs, for the Victorian government to fund a research project
into the incidents of stolen wages in Victoria. The proposal recommended
that the project be auspiced by the National Tertiary Education
Union (NTEU). This auspice was chosen because the NTEU was agreeable
to auspicing the project, NTEU management is supportive of Indigenous
issues, it employs Indigenous staff to undertake research and they
have excellent knowledge surrounding industrial issues.
The Minister's office responded to the proposal with a commitment
to undertake the research but with the proviso that the research
be undertaken internally by the Victorian Government. Whilst the
Wampan wages group were happy that there was recognition that research
needed to be conducted there were concerns about the research being
undertaken by the State government. These concerns included that
the Indigenous community may lose control of the terms of reference
of the research. When incidences of stolen wages could be proven
to a standard that constituted legal proof in Queensland it lead
to compensation for eligible people. If the Victorian State government
undertakes the research they are placed in the position of researching
and presenting a report which may not be in their economic interest
and this could cast a shadow of doubt over the research findings.
It is the hope of ANTaR and the Wampan wages working group that
with further negotiation with the Minister this vital research into
stolen wages will be conducted by an organisation external to the
state government that has the skills to undertake the project, employs
Indigenous people and has ties to the Indigenous community.
- Download A
Snapshot of Stolen Wages in Victoria 1839-1957
How
you can help
The Victorian Campaign
for stolen wages justice is just beginning. Help is needed by the
community to lobby the Government to begin investigating how much
money was stolen from Indigenous people and to pay back their entitlements.
Your support is needed to get
justice on stolen wages in Victoria:
WRITE OR PHONE
your local politician expressing support for an external researcher
to undertake a full investigation into the Victorian stolen wages
issue.
JOIN ANTaR OR MAKE A DONATION.
Memberships and donations to ANTaR Victoria allow us to continue
lobbying and providing support to Indigenous communities.
If you are interested in joining the Working Group or want further
information regarding stolen wages please contact Julie Kun via
the ANTaR Vic office on (03) 9419 3613
Further Information
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