A landmark class action lawsuit aiming to claw back the stolen wages of about 300 Aboriginal Queenslanders could be the beginning of something much bigger, with similar moves planned nationally within months.
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In a statement of claim filed to the Federal Court on Monday, a class action involving 300 Aboriginal workers accused the Queensland government of breaching its fiduciary duty and the trust of Aboriginal people.
In 2002, former premier Peter Beattie acknowledged the total figure for stolen wages in Queensland alone could be as high as
half a billion dollars.
Many Aboriginal workers went
either unpaid or underpaid from 1904 to the 1970s thanks to legislation allowing the government to hold wages in trust, much of which was stolen.
The action was led by Cairns-based Bottoms English Lawyers with help from
Shine Lawyers,
which was aiming to file similar claims in Western Australia, New South Wales and possibly other states within months.
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