The offer to pay compensation to Aborigines whose wages were taken from them from the 1890s to 1972 has been called “mean spirited” by a former Federal Court Judge. Justice Marcus Einfeld issued a four-page attack on the deal that would pay $55.4 million to 16,000 Aborigines, calling it a “churlish carrot.” His letter states that the average recipient would receive between $2,000 and $4,000, a figure that does not come close to measuring the true value of a lifetime of work. Aboriginal Policy Minister Judy Spence criticized Justice Einfeld's letter and remarked that, to her knowledge, the victims of the government's stolen wages have already been paid back. However, it appears there is no paper trail that could verify Ms Spence's claim.
