The WA government's fight to "nitpick" the amount of compensation paid to a man who suffered sexual abuse in state care is a waste of public resources, a prominent Perth lawyer and the opposition say.

Dion Barber was last month awarded $2.85 million by a District Court judge for abuse he suffered during the 1980s and 1990s.

The state government is appealing the amount Mr Barber was awarded.

Lawyer John Hammond, who is not involved in the case, has accused the government of haggling over what he believed was fair compensation.

"The state is not saying that the abuse didn't occur, it wants to nitpick over the amount of money that Dion Barber's being paid by way of compensation," he told ABC Radio Perth.

"The facts [of the case] are horrendous."

"I think most people would say this is an

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