Outraged locals lash out after being denied access to their favorite beach, after a local Aboriginal group successfully claimed native title.
- Butchulla people obtained native title in 2019
- The native title cuts the way to a beach.
Residents are unhappy, saying they can’t access a nearby beach after an indigenous community was granted native title rights to the stretch of sand.
Access to Burrum Heads beach on Queensland’s Fraser Coast, north of Brisbane, was closed by the Butchulla people after a grant of native title to 100,000ha of land and ocean in 2019.
The native title determination includes a section designated ‘exclusive use’, which includes part of the coastal beach and a parking lot separating Burrum Heads residents from the beach.
Branches and mesh now cover the entrance to the car park and the access road to the beach.
The restricted access to the beach comes after reports of a trespassing dispute during Australia Day celebrations in the area.
A small community in Queensland, Burrow Heads, is in the throes of a dispute between indigenous people and residents after its grant of native title cut off access to a beach (pictured)
The Butchulla people’s connection to the land and sea was recognized after a 2019 Federal Court special determination was issued.
The determination reserves 17,129 hectares of land in the area for the exclusive use of indigenous peoples, while non-exclusive native title rights and interests apply to more than 79,608 hectares of land.
Following the most recent conflict, the area’s federal parliamentarian, Keith Pitt, stated that “several concerned Burrum Heads residents contacted my office about an area of land under native title.”
“It has resulted in restricted access to the beach and the removal of older constituents from the beach,” the Nationals MP told Daily Mail Australia.
“I contacted the local state parliamentarian and the Fraser Coast Regional Council about the concerns raised with me and to find out what steps were being taken to address the situation.
‘The council reported that it is working with the state government to understand how the land can be used and by whom.
“All Australians are expected to comply with Australian laws and regulations, without exception.”
According to Hinkley Liberal MP Keith Pitt, older residents have been ‘turned’ off the beach (pictured) as disputes have escalated.
The Butchulla people were granted around 100,000 hectares of land and sea in 2019, of which 17,129 hectares are exclusive to the Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, including part of the beach at Burrum Heads.
Griffith Law School adjunct professor Kate Galloway told the Courier Mail that while residents may be disappointed, an exclusive rights determination grants property rights to native title holders.
According to the Queensland Department of Resources, no use of the land is permitted without the permission of the native holders.
A negotiation process would have to be undertaken with the corporation to reach a land use agreement.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation for comment.
