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Stolen
Wages Facts
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this fact
sheet is to provide affected Aboriginal people, concerned members
of the public, and lobby groups with basic data upon which to assess
the current Queensland Government campaign to shut down all litigation
on unpaid, missing and misused wages, savings and trust funds during
decades of government control.
A glance at the underpaid
wages in any one year shows clearly that this buy-off is an insult
which nowhere near acknowledges the level of financial confiscation
endured by Aboriginal families. A glance at the legal data shows
clearly the Queensland Government was constantly warned of systemic
failures and of active and passive breaches of its duty as a legal
trustee, but failed ever to implement the necessary checks to prevent
massive financial loss to its wards over many decades. Aboriginal
poverty is largely a construct of this system. Queensland Premier
Peter Beattie's scare tactic that litigation will take many years
and millions of dollars is solely determined by the government's
willingness or otherwise to provide promptly all information gathered
to date for independent or judicial assessment.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Since 1897 Protection
Act Queensland government could declare any Aboriginal a ward of
state & control every aspect of their lives. People were forcibly
interned on reserves (1938: 7525; 1968: 8500). From 1904 all employment,
wages & savings were controlled by government under compulsory
labour contracts. From 1904 workers’ wages went direct to police
protector apart from "pocket money" retained by employer for distribution
during work period. From 1910 government took levies from wages
of people living on reserves.
From 1919 government
took levies from wages of those not living on reserves. From 1919
government set pastoral wages at 66% of white wage. "Every Aboriginal"
on a reserve must work for rations & shelter. In 1943 government
set up Aboriginal Welfare Fund to receive wages levies & profits
from reserve enterprises, to be used to develop enterprises on reserves.
From 1950s government pays few shillings to a few key workers on
reserves.
In 1968 government starts
wage economy on reserves; workers paid 50% state minimum wage. From
1968 equal wages in pastoral industry; forced contracting ceases.
From 1971 forced confinement on reserves ceases. From 1972 forced
control over wages & savings (bank books) ceases, although people
have to request to be free from financial management.
From 1979 government
knows underpaying reserve workers is illegal; wage 72% of state
minimum. In 1986 government paying reserve workers only 75% of award.
In 1985 seven Palm Island workers start action in Human Rights Commission
for legal wages. From 1987 government hands control of communities
to Aboriginal councils; budget insufficient to cover award rates.
In 1996 government loses
Human Rights Commission case on under award wages; refuses to pay
suggested compensation of $7000 to each of six workers. Workers
commence federal court action; government capitulates in 1997. In
2000 Beattie government makes $25 million available to pay all workers
after losing several more cases on under award wages. Beattie government
refuses to include mission workers in above payout.
From 2000 Queensland
Aboriginal & Islander Legal Service Secretariat (QAILSS) collects
testimony from over 2000 people who want to take action against
the government for missing, unpaid and underpaid wages, misused
trust funds, unpaid child endowment, workers’ compensation, deceased
estates.
In 2002 Beattie government
makes offer of $55.6 million to pay $4,000 to some people &
$2,000 to others as settlement for all claims on any of these matters.
FINANCIAL DATA
(all amounts are current values)
Pastoral workers
- 1940: 1,982 workers
received 40% of pastoral rate; each worker underpaid $2214 pa
relative to regulation or $5109 relative to award.
- 1949: 4,500 workers
at 31% of rate: underpaid $3931 (regulation); $7750 (award) pa.
- 1960: 4,600 workers
at 65% of rate: underpaid $4136 (award) pa.
- 1967: 5,000 workers
at 70% of rate: underpaid $4265 (award) pa.
PLUS Pocket money: of
the wages paid, up to 80% was retained by employers & much,
possibly most, not paid to workers (see legal evidence below).
PLUS Aboriginal Provident
Fund levy: 2.5% from married wage; 5% from single wages those not
living on reserves.
Reserves workers
Based on calculation
that 50% of inmates worked pre 1968; post 1968 from files.
- 1940: 3,121 workers
each underpaid $9,950 (to state minimum wage) pa ·
- 1949: 3,454 workers:
each underpaid $10,875 (to minimum) pa.
- 1960: 4,310 workers:
each underpaid $8,998 (to minimum) pa.
- 1970: 2,500 workers:
each underpaid $8,110 (to minimum) pa.
- 1975: 2,500 workers:
each underpaid $13,978 (to award) pa.
- 1980: 1,463 workers:
each underpaid $11,490 (to award) pa.
- 1985: 901 workers:
each underpaid $5,923 (to award) pa.
PLUS Settlement maintenance
levy: by regulation 5% from married wage; 10% from single wage of
those working off reserves. (Separate data available only until
1938: shows levy often averages over 13% & Palm Island levy
at times over 25% of wage)
Bulk savings
trust account - Queensland Aboriginals Account
From 1933 government
froze most of savings in investments to earn extra interest:
- 1940 $9.6M invested
- interest bonus to government $119,652 pa ·
- 1950 $7.3M invested
- interest $127,366 pa to Welfare Fund ·
- 1960 $10.4M invested
- interest $286,673 pa to Welfare Fund ·
- 1970 $7.3M invested
- interest $143,544 pa to Welfare Fund ·
- 1975 $2.7M invested
- interest $97,419 pa to Welfare Fund
Trust funds
generally ·
- Aboriginal
Provident Fund & Aboriginal Protection of Property Account
Listed separately
only until 1938; after 1943 part of Welfare Fund: (Misused by
government & not recouped to 1938 (from data to hand) identifiable
amount: $10.33M) ·
- Aboriginal
Welfare Fund (AWF)
From data to
hand (incomplete); between 1943-1990: (Spendings of doubtful legitimacy
or not recouped $93mil)
LEGAL EVIDENCE
Duty of financial
trustee
- Financial trustee
must keep proper books of account; must not profit from the trust
or have conflict of interest.
- Active breaches of
trust consist of intentional negligent or dishonest acts.
- Passive breaches of
trust consist of failure to act.
Fiduciary duty
- Fiduciary duty occurs
when one person is in a position of trust to act for or on behalf
of another.
- A fiduciary must act
in beneficiaries' interest; must not profit from relationship;
must not act for own benefit; must have no conflict of interest
or intent to gain.
Evidence of
breach
Wages:
- Queensland Government
sold Aboriginal labour cheaply and failed to secure even discounted
amount.
- Queensland Government
always knew & was frequently warned pocket money riddled with
fraud but refused to pay for regular audit inspections.
- Queensland Government
established gross underpayment on reserves despite warnings insufficient
for family maintenance.
- Queensland Government
deliberately flouted law to underpay reserve workers after 1975.
Savings:
- Queensland Government
always knew & was frequently warned of police fraud.
- Queensland Government
often warned thumb print system corrupted.
- Queensland Government
warned 1960s & 1970s system still open to fraud.
- Despite this knowledge
Queensland Government refused to allow workers to check transactions.
- Over time the Queensland
Government has seized bank interest, imposed a levy on savings,
frozen vast amounts of desperately needed cash in investments
& retained surplus interest.
Trust
funds:
- Prior to establishment
of Welfare Fund in 1943, Queensland Government often warned about
using trust monies for government expenses.
- Often only a fraction
of Provident Fund legitimately allocated to providing for rations
& relief.
- Often only a fraction
of Property Account distributed to next of kin.
Aboriginal
Welfare Fund (AWF):
- Removals costs often
charged to AWF & only partly repaid, if at all.
- 1940s: Director says
cattle wages wrongly charged to AWF; also white salaries ·
- 1960s: Director says
settlement wages wrongly charged to AWF.
- 1960s: Director says
dept liabilities wrongly charged to AWF.
- 1970s/80s: Settlement
wages increasingly charged to AWF.
- 1970s/80s: Auditors
complain no effective accounting of cattle ventures.
- 1975/90: Massive trade
losses in cattle ventures.
- 1970s: Commonwealth
housing funds wrongly streamed through AWF.
- 1970s/80s: Government
auditors complain ineffective rent collecting causes massive arrears.
- 1980s: Government
auditors complain no proper housing register so can't identify
spending.
- 1980s: Rents wrongly
charged against AWF as 'administrative costs' instead of accruing
to housing pool.
Download
a pdf version of this fact
sheet.
Research by Dr Ros Kidd.
Further information
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