The Liberal National Party president has strongly defended the transfer of land to an Aboriginal corporation despite disapproval from his own colleagues.
The LNP’s internal battle is part of a wider war over the controversial transfer that will see the 210-hectare Toobeah Reserve handed over in freehold to the Bigambul Aboriginal Native Title Corporation in rural Queensland.
Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg, who is responsible for Toobeah and is a former state LNP leader, defended the deal amid bitter complaints from colleagues including federal MP Keith Pitt and Senator Matt Canavan.
Toobeah hotelier Michael Offerdahl has described it as a “secret Aboriginal land grab” and said it will result in the surrender of 95 per cent of the town and $2 million worth of land.
Mr Offerdahl told the Daily Mail Australia that Mr Springborg “asked me to support him as mayor before he did this shit to our city”.
“The Bigambuls have no rights over this area that are of greater importance than any other in Australia,” he said.
“It would be crazy to think that the only company in the municipality has no interest in the municipality.”
Queensland’s Aboriginal Land Act allows the state to transfer land held in trust by traditional owners to local Aboriginal corporations.
The internal LNP battle is part of a wider war over the controversial transfer that will see the 210-hectare Toobeah Reserve handed over in freehold to the Bigambul Aboriginal Native Title Corporation.
Liberal National Party president Lawrence Springborg (pictured) has strongly defended the transfer of land to an Aboriginal corporation, a process criticised by his own colleagues.
This differs from native title as the land is transferred as freehold title, meaning the owners can develop or use it as they wish.
Mr Pitt said allowing the state to “simply hand over land” to Aboriginal organisations was “a mistake” and the “wrong approach”.
“There are 15 other sites that, for some reason, are kept confidential,” said the former Minister of Resources.
“There are other places in other cities that are being directly affected and no one knows about it. This is just another cover-up by the (Queensland) government.”
A Change.org petition launched in March by Offerdahl opposing the transfer has already gathered more than 6,500 signatures, despite the town’s population being just 300.
Mr Springborg said claims that 95 per cent of the city would be “handed over” were “completely false” and a “total misrepresentation”.
“There is not a single square metre of people’s privately owned land, or land that the community can legally access, that could be affected by this,” he said. mail.
‘These land transfers have been happening in Queensland since 1991.’
Aboriginal elders perform a smoking ceremony at the Toobeah reserve, which is about to be transferred to Aboriginal control.
Queensland Critical Minerals and Resources Minister Scott Stewart also defended the transfer, saying there was “no cover-up”.
“The transfer of land under the Aboriginal Land Act is granted as an ‘unalienable freehold’ title, meaning the land cannot be sold or mortgaged,” he previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Instead, the land “is held in trust for the benefit of the persons connected to it, who will continue to care for it.”
The minister added that “it is important to note that the Toobeah Reserve is outside the municipality.
‘No final decision has been made regarding the Reserve, and I think the fact that the people of Bigambul are offering to work with the community is a good thing.’
Although the state government has denied that the land transfer will happen, it recently revoked the Goondiwindi Regional Council’s trusteeship of the Toobeah Reserve, which it had held since 1906.
The Bigambul people said they will preserve a city water easement and access to rodeo lands on the preserve, which they plan to develop as an “eco-cultural attraction.”
Local business owner Michael Offerdahl (third from right) said he was concerned that locals would have to ask permission to enter the reserve and that this could set a precedent for other areas.
Mr Springborg said the Aboriginal corporation was “happy” to talk to locals about giving them legal access to the reserve which they did not currently have.
He said the council would also negotiate with Bigambul and the state government to purchase designated native title land in the area for the town, which is 400 kilometres southwest of Brisbane, to expand in the future.
Bigambul said Offerdahl had known about the proposed land transfer for years and that “some community representatives have not been transparent about their own economic interests, access and use of the reserve.”
In response to this, Mr Offerdahl said: “Whether I knew or not, I’m not the whole community and I clearly didn’t know the scale of this as it would have blown up much sooner (if I had known).”
