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Reconciliation and Conciliation: The Irreconcilable Dilemma of the 1965 'Equal' Wage Case for Aboriginal Station Workers
Thalia Anthony*
The Commonwealth Arbitration and Reconciliation Commission in 1965 presided over a landmark case concerning the inclusion of Indigenous workers in the Cattle Industry (Northern Territory) Award 1951. The success of the Australian beef industry during the previous hundred years, especially in the Northern Territory, depended almost entirely upon the work of Indigenous cattle workers but they had rarely been paid. The Commission decided to include Indigenous people under the Award, but its characterisation as an Equal Wage Case is a misnomer. The arguments in the proceedings fuelled a decision that compromised the principle behind Award wages. First, the Commission relied on arguments regarding the lower work value of Indigenous workers to allow individuals to be categorised as 'slow workers' on below-Award wages. Second, the Commission referred to evidence on the Commonwealth's assimilation policy to advocate the removal of workers from 'tribal' camps on stations. The transcripts reveal racial biases of the Commission that undermined the granting of Award wages.
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| For many years Indigenous cattle workers were deemed to be outside the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Arbitration and Reconciliation Commission (hereafter 'the Commission').1 The Commission formed the opinion that it was the role of governments to regulate Aboriginal affairs and it was therefore unable to deliberate on whether Indigenous workers should be under the Cattle Industry (Northern Territory) Award 1951 (hereafter 'the Award').2 In the context of changing government policy on Indigenous Affairs and the civil rights movement, the President of the Commission, Chief Justice Richard Kirby (later Sir), took the bold step of declaring that the Commission had jurisdiction over Aboriginal workers. He held that the issue of Aboriginal exclusion from industrial awards was of great historical importance to 'the whole Australian community' and it was for the Commission to reconsider this exclusion.3 |
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The case brought together eminent figures in Australian public life who attempted to engage the 'ordinary' language of arbitration, and in particular the notion of work value.4 However, the language of prejudice prevailed in presenting work valuation. The consequence was a decision –Re Cattle Industry (Northern Territory) Award (1966) 113 Commonwealth Arbitration Reports 651 (hereafter 'the Case') – that went beyond the Commission's arbitration role of determining Award wages. The Commission sought to project the changing situation on cattle stations and in Australian society at large, and ultimately promulgated the government policy of assimilation for Aboriginal cattle workers. |
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