The Wire

It’s a case of adding insult to injury for Indigenous people in NSW. They worked for decades on under-award wages, only to have some or all of their pay withheld by the state government. But they have taken another body hit this week, with news that money from the Aboriginal Trust Fund Repayment Scheme will be subject to income tax. For NSW Stolen Wages claimant Marjorie Woodrow, news of taxation is a major let down. Sam Jeffries, a member of the Panel overseeing implementation of the Scheme, says they have been careful to avoid repeating certain aspects of the Qld scheme. The Stolen Wages Working Group’s Yvonne Butler still has records showing that tax was taken from the wages at the time. Queensland academic Ros Kidd is concerned about tax being taken from the payments. Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation Peter Garrett says he’s disgusted by the blatant grab for cash by the Tax Office and Shadow Indigenous Affairs spokesman Chris Evans says Indigenous people have waited long enough for stolen wages compensation.