Government forced to acknowledge Aboriginal stolen wages

[Paul Sheridan]

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Media Release						5 May, 2004		
			
Government forced to acknowledge Aboriginal stolen wages

Evidence from Aboriginal people who had their wages stolen by the state government before 1969 has forced the Carr Government to concede it is responsible for paying it back, Greens MLC Ian Cohen said today.

"Aboriginal people simply want what they are owed. It has taken many years and a long commitment by Aboriginal people to expose government denials to get to this point.

Mr Cohen said his motion to have a ministerial proposal from 2001 to payback the stolen money tabled in the Legislative Council would remain on the notice paper in case the government backtracked on promises made today.

"A key test of the Premier's promises will be if Aboriginal people denied lawful payments receive fair value, in today's currency, for the moneys they have been owed for as long as 60 years.

"If it fails this test the Carr Government would be seen as implicitly supporting past injustices.

"The time is way overdue for the government to put the payback scheme into operation. The government has had the evidence it needed to act since 2001.

"Let's not forget that this is not the state's money to bestow or withhold within budget comfort. This is Aboriginal earnings and entitlements that the state as trustee was legally bound to safeguard."


Further Information: Paul Sheridan, 0410 516 656




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