The Wire

Today the Queensland Government agreed to pay back $190 million of stolen wages in an historic class action law suit guided by Indigenous Queenslander Hans Pearson.

The settlement covers a period between 1939 and 1972 where the Queensland government controlled all the wages of Aboriginal workers. These wages were often not paid, lost, or handed out at a significantly reduced rate.

Dr Ros Kidd, author and historian, has long been advocating for the repayment of these wages after she became aware of the injustice in the early 1990’s. She says that we are seeing the affects of this issue today as poverty in Indigenous communities is still prevalent.