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Albanese government to pay $202m to NT’s Indigenous workers in stolen wages class action
(www.theguardian.com)
The federal government will pay up to $202m compensation to thousands of Indigenous workers whose wages were stolen while working in the Northern Territory last century.
The payout is part of the settlement of a class action on behalf of workers and their families who were subject to commonwealth wage control legislation between 1933 and 1971.
The Western Australian government settled a similar case last year for stolen wages in that state, agreeing to pay $165m while an action against the Queensland government resulted in compensation of $190m in 2019.
The Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, said she hoped the settlement would bring closure to First Nations people who were affected by the wage control legislation.
