[4] The NAWU did agree that "half-caste" (racially mixed) Indigenous people should be granted equal wages in line with the eliminationist views advocated by Cecil Cook, to encourage their integration into white society.
[6] The union intervened on their behalf to participate in local society, including opposing moves to segregate the Northern Territory Football League and supporting their right to drink alcohol at public hotels.
[7] In 1937, the union intervened on the behalf of half-caste waterside workers, when Northern Territory administrator Aubrey Abbott argued before the local arbitration court that their wages should be lowered due to their racial status.
[6] The NAWU ultimately removed its racial bar in 1948 and allowed all Indigenous Australians to take up membership, despite the opposition of federal interior minister Herbert Johnson and departmental officials in the Native Affairs branch in Darwin.
[9][10] In 1965 the Union applied to the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to amend the Northern Territory's pastoral award to remove sections discriminating against Aboriginal workers.