One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has condemned the “organized theft” of a city reserve park which she says has been quietly handed over to an Indigenous corporation against the community’s wishes.
Ms. Hanson said the agreement to hand over 210 hectares of the Toobeah Reserve to the Bigambul Aboriginal Native Title Corporation near the New South Wales border in the center Queensland has gone behind closed doors ahead of the next state election.
Toobeah has been bitterly divided over the move, with publican Michael Offerdahl leading the fight against what he described as a secret “Aboriginal land grab” that will hand over $2 million worth of land comprising more than 95 per cent of the city.
Hanson said that, despite sustained community opposition, the Miles Labor government had rushed the deal through before the state went into caretaker mode for the election campaign.
“These organized robberies take place in secret, behind closed doors and the affected communities have no say in the matter,” Ms Hanson said.
“The reason they are not given a voice is because they are very likely to oppose the transfer, and the government refuses to listen to anyone say that.”
The Queensland Aboriginal Land Act allows the State to transfer land held in trust for traditional owners to local Aboriginal corporations.
Land title records reveal that the site was transferred to BNTAC in late September; Just months after the Goondiwindi Regional Councils’ guardianship of the Toobeah Reserve, which it had held since 1906, was revoked, the courier mail reported.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she rushed through a closed-door deal to hand over land adjacent to a town to an Indigenous corporation.
Offerdahl slammed Goondiwindi mayor and LNP state president Lawrence Springborg following revelations that the land had been transferred.
“There’s only one way to win this and that’s Springborg: the city council did this to us,” he said.
‘The state government, the council, have not supported anything. They have not even demonstrated that the guardianship (of the council) (of the reserve) can be removed. The council abandoned him. Guardianship cannot be removed without talking to the community about it.
‘He’s going to leave my children out of the gutter. They will have to sign an individual access agreement with an (Aboriginal) corporation in Cherbourg.
“They told us we’ll have to go tell them something about swimming in our own damn stream. It’s nonsense.’
Queensland Critical Minerals and Resources Minister Scott Stewart defended the transfer talks, saying there was “no cover-up”.
“Land transfers under the Aboriginal Land Act are granted as ‘inalienable 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 people connected with the land, who will continue to care for it.”
“It is important to note that Toobeah Reserve is outside the township,” Mr Stewart said.
“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.”
In a complaint to the Ombudsman, Offerdahl claimed the council failed to consult the community before agreeing to the transfer and failed to consider the rights of non-Indigenous residents to use waterways and fishing, which he claimed were in risk.
The remote southern Queensland town of Toobeah (pictured) has been bitterly divided over a proposed land transfer.
In a complaint to the Ombudsman, Offerdahl claimed the council failed to consult the community before agreeing to the transfer and failed to take into account the rights of non-Indigenous residents to use waterways and fisheries, which he said, were at risk for
Springborg responded that claims that locals could be excluded from much of their city were “completely false.”
“There is not one square meter of private land owned outright by the people, or land that the community can legally access, that could be affected by this,” he said in July.
“These (Aboriginal) land transfers have been occurring in Queensland since 1991.”
Springborg said the council will negotiate with Bigambul and the state government to purchase designated native title land in Toobeah for the town’s future expansion.
He said the council had no control over the land transfer, but had told the government the process needed to be reviewed for better community involvement.
Ms Hanson said the state needed to get rid of the Aboriginal Land Act so other communities did not suffer “land dispossession”.
“There are 14 other communities across Queensland affected by proposed land transfers under this terrible legislation,” he said.
Local business owner Michael Offerdahl (third from right) said he was concerned that locals would have to ask permission to enter the reserve.
‘One Nation will do everything possible to protect these communities and reverse the land transfer in Toobeah.
‘More than 6.7 million hectares have been transferred from Queensland under this act. “It is racially divisive and it has to stop.”
Ms Hanson called on Goondiwindi Regional Council, the Labor government and the local state MP to apologize to the people of Toobeah.
“The government and council led by Lawrence Springborg should apologize for keeping the Toobeah community in the dark while actively working against the community’s interests to transfer the land to an anonymous Indigenous corporation more than 400 kilometers away,” he said.
“The local member must apologize for not standing up for the Toobeah community.”
The town of Bigambul said it will preserve a city water easement and access to a rodeo in the reserve, which it plans to develop as an “ecocultural attraction.”
They have accused those opposed to the transfer of spreading “falsehoods and misinformation” and are willing to work with the community “to develop and improve the site for the benefit of all.”
