Aboriginal claim to Brisbane’s Redlands Coast casts doubt on the ownership of urban public spaces and facilities across Australia

Australia’s first major aboriginal title claim to a large urban area is clouding the future of popular natural areas, parks, playgrounds, cemeteries and even community buildings.

The claim could relate to Aboriginal ownership rights to around 3,500 council-owned or managed properties in the Redlands coastal region of Brisbane, home to 165,000 people.

Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams said the lawsuit brought by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation in 2017 was a groundbreaking case that all Australians should pay attention to.

“It’s the first time such a claim to ownership of an urban area has been made to this extent,” she told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

Scenic attractions such as Wellington Point (pictured) could become exclusive areas for local titleholders under the claim

The first major aboriginal title claim was made in an urban area, the Redlands region of Brisbane with a population of 165,000

“Some of these areas we will vigorously defend because they are important, a very important part, such as in particular the coastal points and cemeteries where, I might add, many ancestors and pioneers are buried.”

Cr Williams said the lawsuit could deny locals and visitors access to popular viewing and recreational areas, which could be left for the plaintiffs’ exclusive use.

“We’re a coastal town, so we have Wellington Point, Victoria Point and Cleveland Point, where people go to drive or fish on Sunday afternoons,” she said.

Although the native title plaintiffs have access to millions of dollars in federal funds to pursue their claims, the council must rely entirely on its own resources in taking the case to federal court.

“It feels a bit like we’re on our own,” Cr Williams said.

“Of course there are costs that ratepayers have to bear.”

“We have island communities and marine parks and ferries and an aging population and not a very large commercial base, so we feel like we have to spend every penny.”

Redland Council has extensive experience with Native Title, having handed over Stradbroke Island, which sits on its maritime boundaries, to Native Title in 2011.

Using native title, Cr Williams said: “They can either hand over the land or it could be compensation.”

“If you take North Stradbroke Island, part of the compensation was handing over the land and giving the traditional owners the community-owned business, the caravan park,” she said.

Cleveland Cemetery is an area Redland Council has been advocating for in federal court

Redland City Council buildings are also part of the native title claim being decided in the Supreme Court

The case before the Federal Court stems from several years of negotiations in which the state government reduced the list of community locations affected by the lawsuit to 1,050.

Aboriginal title claims may be extinguished if there is either a previous grant of tenure and/or previous public works – with the burden of proof on the Council.

However, the state government has made a U-turn and relocated all 3,500 community-owned or managed sites back to the claim.

“We had spent a few years getting to this point so this was a big disappointment for us,” Cr Williams said.

“We then decided to take the matter to court.

“We are now doing everything we can and investing a lot of time and resources to collect this (public works) evidence across 3,000 properties.”

For the less developed coastal areas, the council will dispute native title by proving the areas have been reclaimed, but that means digging up historical records.

Cr Williams said uncertainty over sites subject to native ownership claims had led to a planning freeze and major capital works.

“We obviously take into account which areas have native ownership claims because we don’t want to invest more taxpayer money in the landscape that might have to be given up,” she said.

The mayor emphasized that the council ultimately wanted clarity on what was contained in the lawsuit, which was complicated by working with the state and federal governments.

“As an organization and a council, we are absolutely committed to reconciliation,” she said.

Redland Mayor Karen Williams said it felt the council was left “on its own” to deal with the claim

Queensland One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said the locals’ council title race had been very unfair

“We agree with some areas that make claims.” “All we seek is clarity and a degree of fairness.”

A number of residents had raised concerns that the proposed Indigenous voice in Parliament would make the council’s job more difficult, but Cr Williams insisted this was not the case.

“They believe that the referendum will have an impact on how this is handled, which is not the case,” she said.

“The Native Title Act is a pre-existing law, whatever happens with the vote, yes or no, we will still face this particular challenge.”

Cr Williams acknowledged the vote could influence legislation in the future.

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson insisted what happened in Redlands was “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“If we bring the voice into Parliament it will increase enormously,” she told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

In the more detailed documentation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which emerged from a 2017 meeting, the vernacular title features prominently in the discussions.

A “roadmap” in the final document containing the declaration shows Aboriginal title becoming part of the body overseeing a treaty between First Nations and Australian governments.

“The role of the National Native Title Tribunal should be taken over by the Makarrata Commission,” it said.

Senator Hanson claimed that South Queensland Native Title Services was being funded by the Albanian Government to the tune of $71 million to claim the Redlands region.

Meanwhile, the Albanian government has abolished a federal fund to help councils respond to native title claims, she said, making the issue a very one-sided affair.

“There is no federal funding for respondents to combat these claims,” Senator Hanson said.

“The local authorities can’t afford it. ‘I think it’s unfair, I think it’s unjust.’

Senator Hanson said she would submit a motion to re-establish the fund and would like to see a sunset clause setting a deadline by which indigenous rights claims can be made.

Ms Hanson claimed the native title already covers 50 per cent of Australia and a further 10 per cent is still under review.

“I’ve seen the map of Queensland,” Senator Hanson said.

“They gave back the land around Hervey Bay, Fraser Island.” Stradbroke Island.

“There are claims from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to Toowoomba and beyond Warwick.” It also goes all the way to the border.

“It is also scattered around Bundaberg, Maryborough, up to Emerald and up to Mt Isa.”

A 2019 Native Title Tribunal report said 40 percent of the continent had been claimed.

Senator Hanson said she was examining the extent of aboriginal title claims across Australia and the funding provided to make this possible.

“They will demand redress, that’s what this is about,” she said.

“They actually gave this land back and it can’t mean much to them because they’re selling it for a profit.”

“Simply returning them (sites) to a handful of Aboriginal people and denying the great population of Australia the enjoyment of these areas is wrong.”