Aboriginal land claim rocks one of Australia’s wealthiest suburbs as Indigenous group lobbies for a massive chunk of prime parkland

An Aboriginal land council has made a bid for a huge tract of prime parkland in one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs.

The Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council has laid claim to 150,000 m² of Boronia Park in the exclusive suburb of Hunters Hill on Sydney's North Shore.

The area is among the fanciest in the country, with median home prices approaching $4 million and units costing just under $1 million.

Hunters Hill Mayor Zac Miles said the claim had the potential to see the green space, classified as a bush care management zone, turned into a freehold title that left it open to development.

Nathan Moran, CEO of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, dismissed such concerns as “fear mongering”, despite indicating the land could be used for the cultural and economic development of Indigenous people.

“Making claims for Crown Land (is) to give us something back for all the other land we have lost in the state of NSW since colonization,” he told the Daily telegram.

“When you look at the trillions of dollars of wealth that has been taken from us, I think it's disgusting that councils are engaging in fear-mongering.

'We have to fight tooth and nail for every claim we make, but unfortunately it is not unusual for claims to take more than a decade to be assessed.

'All we want is for the assessment to be completed so that we have certainty.

The claim was submitted in 2009 but only made public to the Department of Crown Lands, informing Hunters Hill Council it would be assessed by the end of 2024.

In September it was revealed that the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council had filed a claim on the Lawry Plunkett Reserve park next to Balmoral Beach on Sydney's north shore, valuing the prime site at $100 million.

The claim was just one of 3,000 filed in Sydney, while 40,000 were filed across the state.

Last year, 545 of these claims were granted, the highest number in a single year.

A NSW government source warned at the time that legal fees and costs involved in Crown Land clearing the backlog could reach “billions”.

Mr Moran said at the time that this could be largely avoided if the state government chose to grant a claim 'when it should'.

The mayor of Hunters Hill Council has raised concerns about green space that could be opened up for development

Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Nathan Moran has dismissed concerns over the Hunters Hill land claim

Under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, Native Title can be claimed over any Crown land that is unused or used for purposes other than those for which it has been gazetted by the NSW Parliament.

About two-thirds of the land council's claims have been denied, Moran said when claims are granted, it means that 'a range of possibilities opens up'.

“We always look through the eyes: it's cultural, social, environmental, recreational or commercial/residential,” he said.

“Those are the prisms that we think all the country in general is for. We approach it on a case by case basis.'

He sent the Metropolitian Council together with local agencies that had used the land.

“We're not kicking anyone off,” Mr. Moran said.

“We are working with them and offering licenses to continue those relationships.”

Only NSW and the Northern Territory have land title claims, while the rest of Australia is subject to Native Title claims, which do not confer title.

Native Title can only be claimed on Crown land and does not apply to private property.

The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council has been contacted for comment.

Hunters Hill Mayor Zac Miles said the land claim had the potential to open up the green space for development