The Wire

During the 20th Century thousands of Indigenous Australians had their wages withheld by employers – at the same time some were held against the will and abused. Now Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation have released a report, on stolen wages, by historian Rosalind Kidd. Following on from the tabling of a federal parliamentary report on the issue, the study, “Hard Labor Stolen Wages”, places responsibility for the withholding of wages in the lap of the Commonwealth as well as every state and territory government in Australia.