Stolen Wages Payback Shame is a special report on "stolen" wages and payments owed to Aborigines from the turn of the century in NSW. The series documents the story of the wages and savings, pensions and other payments to Aborigines withheld by New South Wales Governments for 70 years until 1969. It detailed the "unwritten policies" pursued by successive Governments of denying liability, misleading Aboriginal people about the fate of the funds and resisting efforts by the rightful owners of the money from claiming it back.
The judges were impressed by the effort undertaken by the small newspaper and the direct impact it had in prompting action by the NSW Government, other State Governments and Indigenous organisations. They said the power of the piece came not just from the revelations of past injustices, but also the illustration that Indigenous people's lives are still being frustrated by government failure.
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