Postcard campaign launched at rally
The launch of a joint national public awareness campaign at the Stolen Wages Rally has sent a clear message to the Beattie Government that the stolen wages issue is far from settled, say members of the Queensland coalition of Indigenous organisations.
The rally, held in King George Square on Friday 8 August, included the official launch of a national postcard campaign.
Union and community groups including the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Queensland Council of Unions, Victoria Trades Hall Council (VTHC) and Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) have generated and endorsed the campaign with an undertaking to help with distribution of up to 50,000 of the postcards.
The set of three cards tells the story of the missing, unpaid and underpaid wages belonging to Aboriginal people who were forced to work over the past century.
One card supports the union backing of the campaign, one is for Qld Premier Peter Beattie
and the third, to be kept, has details of a fighting fund to be set up for a longer term campaign.
Stolen Wages Postcards are available from:
- Queensland Council of Unions (07 3846 2468)
- ANTaR Qld (07 3844 9800)
- Aboriginal Coordinating Council (07 4044 2999)
- FAIRA (07 3391 4677) and 4AAA(07) 3892 0100)
- ANTaR National in NSW (02 9555 6138)
- Australia Asia Worker Links in Victoria (03 9663 7277)
- Victorian Trades Hall Council (03 9662 3511)
- ACTU (03 9663 5266)
Here's what some of the speakers at the rally had to say...
"I remember one lad from the work gang started rolling up his swag and I said, "where are you going?" and he said, "I'm waiting for the police to come and pick me up, I've got to go to Boggo Road". I said, "what for?" and he said, "I haven't paid my maintenance for my children". I said, "how can you pay your maintenance for your children, you don¹t get any wages?" He said, "they still come and get me." Alex Davidson, GMAG
"If this government is fair dinkum then it will consult with all the elders
from all the countries that make up this state, it will listen to their stories and it will pay real
compensation." Peter Eather, Miscellaneous Workers
Union
"Certainly it's about indigenous workers but whichever workers it
happened to it would not be acceptable to us at the Victorian Trades Hall Council. We considered we
had to support the indigenous people in this campaign and this campaign can't be allowed to be
finished by Beattie with the pittance that is being paid." Gwynnyth Evans, Victorian
Trades Hall Council
"I'd like to lend support to the Queensland Council of Unions and the
groups that are trying to forward this agenda in raising awareness with everybody."
Valda Graham, Liquor Hospitality & Miscellaneous
Union
"On behalf of the Aboriginal Coordinating Council, I'd like to thank
the ACTU, QCU, VTHC, AAWL, ANTaR, FAIRA and 4AAA for their contribution and support to the postcard
campaign. We need the community to ensure a lot of these cards go off to the Premier's desk so
he gets sick and tired of it because he has to take this responsibility in ensuring our old people
are properly repaid." Alf Lacey, ACC
"On all of the levels, on an industrial level, social justice level and on
a health level, the Queensland Nurses Union supports this campaign to see stolen wages properly paid
to the indigenous community of Queensland. What the Queensland Government is currently
offering is insufficient to address this past injustice - surely this offer is not the action of a
smart state or a fair state. We can, we must do better than the offer that is presently on the
table." Beth Mohl, Queensland Nurses Union
"On behalf of ANTaR I'd like to commend this postcard campaign to
everybody, I think it is a really important initiative and I think it is something that all
Australians can understand. Please fill them in and circulate them to your friends and
colleagues." David Cooper, ANTaR National
"Unions affiliated to the QCU support the plight of those indigenous
workers and we also support that this offer should never be seen as full reparations for what they
went through. The postcards give a demonstration of some of those workers who were
affected by the harsh and unjust law. There is action where you can send a message of
support to the Queensland Council of Unions or you can send your message to the Premier Peter
Beattie and the other ways on the back of the postcard in which everyone in the community can
assist. We urge you to spread them amongst the community and send them in."
Grace Grace, QCU
Other speakers at the rally included Pier Moro (AAWL); Democrats Senator John Cherry; Dr Ros Kidd; Peter Eather (Miscellaneous Workers Union) and ATSIC Commissioner Robbie Williams. ANTaR Qld's Jenny Tannoch-Bland and New Mapoon Councillor Billy Daniel (who was there with Umagico Councillor Albert Bond, both of whom came especially from the tip of Cape York for the event) also spoke at the official postcard launch which was introduced with a song from Dawn Daylight.