Australia to pay £1.1m in compensation to hundreds of Aboriginal people for ‘racist’ welfare scheme

The Community Development Programme was dubbed by critics as ‘modern slavery’

The Scott Morrison government has announced a settlement of £1.1m for the ‘racist’ welfare scheme (AAP)

The Australian government will pay $1.4m (£1.1m) in compensation to hundreds of Aboriginal people in settling a class action suit that argued the Scott Morrison government’s “work for the dole” programme was racist.

Introduced in 2015, the Community Development Programme (CDP) has been criticised as “modern slavery” due to its harsher rules and welfare penalties compared to other welfare schemes.

At least 80 per cent of the users of this scheme are Aboriginal Australians.

Under the scheme, about 30,000 job seekers from remote areas have had to travel long distances and work for 25 hours a week to receive the dole, reported the BBC.

People were paid only $10 (£5.39) a day, half the national minimum wage as part of the scheme.

A group representing 680 people in 10 communities from western Australia’s Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku and the Ngaanyatjarra council sued the government, arguing the scheme breached anti-discrimination laws.

They alleged the CDP breached sections 9, 10 and 13 of the Racial Discrimination Act, reported The Guardian.

The advocates pointed out that the scheme disadvantaged Aboriginal people who live in Australia’s remotest and poorest communities with limited access to network, travel and internet connectivity.

Justice Richard White of the Federal Court of Australia officially approved the settlement and revealed that the government would pay $1.4m to the Ngaanyatjarra council.

The court found that people had lost $1,800 (£970) each on average due to the programme’s conditions.

The government, however, made no admission of legal liability even as it agreed to redesign the CDP scheme for the 10 communities covered by the class action.

Damien McLean, the president of the shire of Ngaanyatjarraku who led the action, welcomed the ruling and said the CDP required people to be “punished”.

“For communities with high costs of living and high levels of poverty, it was very difficult, very stressful,” Mr McLean said.

“That’s why we’re glad the commonwealth has had a good look at it and seen the problems it is causing.”

Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt had announced in May that the government would overhaul the entire CDP amid criticism.