Exonerated Kathleen Folbigg Offered Insulting $2M Compensation for 20 Years in Prison

In a controversial move, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has encouraged Kathleen Folbigg to sue the government if she wants more than the $2 million compensation offered for the two decades she spent in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing her four children.

Folbigg's case has sparked bipartisan condemnation, with calls for a possible inquiry into what has been described as an "insulting" compensation payout. Once referred to as one of Australia's worst serial killers, Folbigg was convicted in 2003 and ordered to serve a minimum 25-year sentence for the suffocation murders of three of her children and the manslaughter of a fourth. However, her name was cleared, and her convictions were quashed in 2023 by the appeals court, just months after she was granted an unconditional pardon and released from prison.

The Greens MP Sue Higginson has formally requested the government to review the decision to offer such an "unjust and inadequate payment" to Folbigg, warning that she will move to establish an inquiry if the premier does not meet with Folbigg and offer just and fair compensation. The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has also described the figure as "unfair and too low," though he has stopped short of calling for a formal inquiry.

Minns has defended the $2 million payout, stating that it is the most the government can allocate without diverting funds from other important programs. However, legal experts and Folbigg's supporters argue that the compensation is inadequate when compared to the money provided to other wrongfully convicted Australians, such as David Eastman, who received $7 million, and Lindy Chamberlain, who was paid $1.5 million.