Huge development after Toobeah locals erupted over ‘secretive’ plan to hand massive tract of land to Aboriginal group
The Queensland Ombudsman is to launch an investigation into plans to transfer a large tract of land to an Indigenous group, following negative reactions from local people.
The state government is preparing to transfer the 210-hectare Toobeah Reserve to the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, near the New South Wales border in south-central Queensland.
According to local innkeeper Michael Offerdahl, it is a secret “Aboriginal land grab”, with 95 percent of the town, with a population of about 150, and $2 million worth of land ending up in the hands of the Bigambul people.
He filed a complaint with the Ombudsman confirming that it will investigate the deal, which was largely brokered under the leadership of Goondiwindi Mayor and LNP Chairman Lawrence Springborg.
Mr Offerdahl claims 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 fish, which he says are compromised by indigenous title.
The complaint alleges that the council failed to define the reserve as an area where general camping is permitted, even though this has been the case since 1906.
However, Mr Springborg said claims that local people would be excluded from much of their town were “completely false”.
“There is not a single square meter of people’s private land, or land that is lawfully accessible to the community, that can be affected by this,” he told the Courier post last month.
The remote southern Queensland town of Toobeah (pictured) has become the centre of a contentious debate in the state over the transfer of land to traditional owners.
Local entrepreneur 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.
‘These (Aboriginal) land transfers have been taking place in Queensland since 1991.’
Mr Springborg said the council will negotiate with Bigambul and the State Government for the purchase of land in Toobeah, earmarked for Indigenous use, for the future expansion of the town.
He said the council had no say in the land transfer, but had told the government the process needed to be reviewed to improve community involvement.
Mr Offerdahl told Daily Mail Australia last month that Mr Springborg “asked me to support him as mayor before he did this shit to our city”.
“The Bigambul have no claim to this area, which is of greater significance than any other in Australia,” Mr Offerdahl said.
‘It would be crazy to think that the only company in the municipality has no interest in the municipality.’
The residents of Bigambul have stated that they want to maintain a municipal water supply and access to the rodeo grounds on the reserve, and develop the reserve into an “eco-cultural attraction.”
They accuse those who oppose 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.”
Queensland’s Aboriginal Land Act allows the state to transfer land held in trust for traditional owners to local Aboriginal corporations.
Although the state government denies that the land transfer will definitely take place, it recently withdrew the management of the Toobeah Reserve from the Goondiwindi Regional Council, which had been in its care since 1906.
The 220-acre Toobeah Reserve lies directly north of the city and has been the primary recreation center since the early days
Queensland Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals Scott Stewart defended the transfer, saying there was “no cover-up”.
“A land transfer under the Aboriginal Land Act is granted as an ‘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 involved in the land, who will continue to manage the land into the future’.
The minister added that ‘it is important to note that the Toobeah Reserve is outside the municipality.
“There has been no final decision on the reserve yet, but I think it is a good thing that the people of Bigambul are offering to work with the community.”
Toobeah is one of 14 towns in Queensland that First Nations groups have expressed interest in.