Stolen Wages

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Consultation

The formal community consultations have been substantially completed. Members of the Stolen Wages Team visited a number of regional communities during the public consultation period. Click here for a list of locations and dates of community meetings. The Project Team will also be visiting a number of outstanding locations in early 2008. Details of the future meetings will be available on the website.

The period for providing 'Have Your Say' information forms ended on 31 January 2008.  The information received will assist the Stolen Wages Taskforce to fully understand and analyse the nature and extent of the Stolen Wages issue in Western Australia and will aide the Taskforce in determining recommendations and outcomes, which will be reported to the Western Australia Government by June 2008.

Indigenous Advisors

Following a public call for nominations, four Indigenous Advisors were engaged by the Task Force in December 2007 to provide cultural and ethical guidance and support to ensure the cultural integrity of the work to be undertaken. The first meeting of the Advisors was held in Perth on 23 January 2008.  A key focus of the meeting was to seek guidance and advice on issues arising during the consultations held to date and to identify measures to address possible future issues.   The Taskforce will meet regularly with the Advisors throughout the duration of the Project.

Background

In May 2007, the Government of Western Australia approved a Task Force to examine and prepare advice on future stolen wages policy options. The Task Force is required to report back to Cabinet with their findings by 30 June 2008. The Task Force is comprised of the following Departments: Treasury and Finance; Culture and the Arts; Premier and Cabinet; Communities; Indigenous Minister’s Office; Indigenous Affairs and Child Protection.

The term Stolen Wages refers to wages, savings, entitlements and other monies that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may have had controlled in Western Australia between 1905 and 1972.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, governments and other parties adopted extensive controls over the employment, working conditions and wages of Aboriginal people. Those controls permitted the non-payment or underpayment of wages to Aboriginal workers, and the diversion of wages into trust and savings accounts managed by the government and third parties.

Evidence suggests that in Western Australia Aboriginal workers were not paid wages. In addition, under the Aborigines Protection Act 1886 (WA) employment contracts for Aboriginal people could not include the payment of wages; instead payment was via rations, clothing and blankets.

Prior to the 1967 referendum, it is also possible that Commonwealth entitlements were often denied to Aboriginal people or paid to third parties (including missions, other institutions, pastoral station owners and agencies of the State). These entitlements included child endowment; maternity allowance; invalid, old age and widows’ pensions; unemployment and sickness benefits; and war and service pensions.

In the absence of a detailed examination of Western Australian records, it is not possible to determine the extent of the above practices or calculate how much money may have been retained by the State Government or other parties. However, from records available it is estimated that there are 28,000 references that suggest wages were either lost, stolen or withheld.

To address these questions and to better understand the issues involved, the Government has made a commitment to research these issues.

What is the role of the Task Force?

The role of the Task Force is to direct the work of the project team established to examine the legal and policy issues related to Stolen Wages.

The Task Force has been given the role of:

• Identifying the scope and extent of the stolen wages issue by:
  • Determining relevant records and specialist advice required,
  • Undertaking analysis, seeking advice and formulating an appropriate research methodology;
  • Undertaking comprehensive and appropriate consultation with Aboriginal people and communities, agencies and other parties on the scope and nature of the issues associated with moneys withheld from Aboriginal people;
  • Conducting a number of case studies;
• Suggesting policy options for going forward. Options could range from having no reparation scheme to alternative models for reparation schemes, identifying any administration issues.

How will the Task Force undertake its role?

A project team has been established to undertake the necessary research and policy analysis to understand the practice of wage payments in Western Australia.

The project has been divided into five (5) stages:

• Discovery - Understanding what happened and the extent of the issues.
• Consultation - Meeting with Aboriginal people, communities, government and non-government organisations.
• Analysis and Assessment - Undertaking an extensive analysis of the key issues and obtaining expert advice on any matter that is relevant.
• Policy Options - Working through the policy issues and developing options for consideration.
• Advice to Government - Preparing advice on what options are available to Government.

Members of the Stolen Wages Team will be visiting a number of regional communities during the public consultation period. Click here for a list of locations and dates of community meetings.

Contacting the Project Team undertaking the policy and research

For further information the Stolen Wages Project Team can be contacted on 1800 221 883 or email: stolenwages@dia.wa.gov.au