The Federal Court has approved the Western Australian government’s $180 million settlement payment to eligible Aboriginal workers who had their wages withheld or underpaid as a result of discriminatory government policies over the past century.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and descriptions of people who died.
Judge Bernard Murphy ruled that around 8,750 successful claimants would receive a share of the payment, after lawyers and a third party who partly funded the action were paid.
The class action was brought by Gooniyandi Stockman and acclaimed artist Mervyn Street, 72, who worked at stations for most of his life and did not receive a wage until he was 30.
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Mr Street’s complaint, led by Shine Lawyers, concerned the policy in place between 1936 and 1972 that allowed the state government to deduct up to 75 per cent of an Aboriginal person’s wages.
In November 2023, the state government announced it would pay up to $180.4 million to thousands of eligible Aboriginal workers, their spouses and children, including $15.4 million in legal costs.
An unknown Aboriginal pastoralist working cattle in the Kimberley. (Supplied: WA State Library)
Settlement approved
Judge Murphy heard submissions in Perth on Tuesday from Shine Lawyers and other eligible claimants, the state government and Litigation Lending Services (LLS), the litigation funder backing the case.
In his judgment, Judge Murphy said that while he was not yet ready to give an exact figure on the monetary value each claimant would receive, he was “deeply sorry” for the way they were treated.
“The proposed settlement regarding unpaid or underpaid wages and related claims should also be taken into account,” he said.
“It has nothing to do with the shameful way First Nations people were treated.
“Some manage to overcome the trauma… while others perished through no fault of their own.”
Judge Murphy said it was important that the settlement fund was approved as reaching a settlement at trial could have taken “years” and a “significant amount of time”.
“I propose to approve the settlement, not because it is nice, not because it is generous, but because it is the best thing that can be done under all the circumstances,” he said.
“The stories the court heard will stay with me forever and I am deeply sorry that First Nations people were treated poorly.”
Judge Bernard Murphy presided over the case in a federal court in Perth. (Delivered: Federal Court)
Legal costs examined
Judge Murphy would also determine how much attorneys would be paid for their legal fees related to the class action.
In April this year, Shine Lawyers traveled to more than 200 communities in WA to register complainants ahead of the June 30, 2024 registration deadline, which was later extended until the end of September.
The company’s legal fees totaled just under $30 million.
But Judge Murphy questioned the amounts spent on the registration process.
“How can it possibly cost $10 million to register 15,000 people?” said the judge.
“That’s a question I’m trying to answer.”
The case was heard in the Federal Court in Perth.
While he said he was not critical of the quality of work done by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, he said the costs were significant.
“What concerns me is that no one has stepped back and said, ‘How much did this process cost?’” he said.
“I’ve never seen a registration cost so much.”
Judge Murphy said that while he had “not yet settled on the size of the deductions” for litigants LLS and Shine Lawyers, this would be “substantial”.
“This was a big case, a big and difficult case in which the lawyers worked hard to achieve a good result. They must be paid,” the judge said.
Before concluding, Judge Murphy praised the attorneys who brought the case and the quality of the submissions.