TRANSCRIPT:
(This transcript is derived from an automated process. The video recording is authoritative.)
Shalini Bhasin:
The purpose of my presentation is to provide some key facts about the native title Land Holdings in the Bayside, its background scale and the impact it has on a local economy and community living. I come from the government ordered background and I can assure you that all the information that you will see here is from reliable sources such as departmental websites, audit reports, strategic plans that are available in the public domain. The key question that we would try to introspect tonight is, is this a land native title? Is it a land claim or a land grab? Is this actually closing the gap or is it widening the gap?
This map represents the scale of the problem, yet it's not being even recognised as a problem. Problem. Let's dig deeper into these native title corporations Taking Quandamooka Corporation, which we'll refer to as qac as a case study. There's a lot to grab today, so just pay attention.
A country within country. Kooka country extends from the North Starbrook Island to Morton Islands across the mouth of the Brisbane River up to the Norman Creek, down to Mount Cotton, the Logan River across the South Strati, and it also covers all the Bay Islands. It overlaps the four local council boundaries of Morton Bay Council in the North Brisbane City Council, Redland Bay Council, and also parts of the Logan City Council. It covers the inland suburbs as far as Litten, Manley, ham, Chandler, ley, Gumdale, tfa, Belmont, and the entire area of Redland city council. So who are these Quandamooka people? Nearly 2000 in population, yes, just 2000 in population and direct descendants of the 12 family groups who are recognised as the traditional custodian of the Quandamooka country. They were the original inhabitants of the area who were disposed of the land through the colonial process in the last 200 years when the first European settlement began, the area in 1824 with the establishment of Morton Bay penal colony Kooka people are the First nations people who have inhabited the land and believed to have a deep cultural root with the land for thousands of years.
It is important to note in 2011 when it all began and much to the unawareness of the residents of this area, quantum people want the rights over North Rad Brook Island on land and sea areas of 54,408 hectares. This includes an exclusive right and when we say exclusive right, it is similar to Freehold land. This includes an exclusive title on 2,264 hectares, including Redland's only camping ground now called Minchi Camping. This was the only camping public camping grounds for all the Redland Bay area and is still today. Their winning also included the non-exclusive onshore title over 22,636 hectares, including National Park Reserves and non-exclusive titles over waterways and seas covering 29,505 hectares. That's a massive piece of land and sea area given to a small population of people. This is managed as Quandamooka is stated by the registered native Title Corporation, which we'll call as QAC for ease in this presentation.
Now the issue here is that majority residents are unaware and uninformed till date. It started in 2011 and it's 2025, and the humble formation of QAC has turned into a powerhouse with a never ending expansion and demand for more and more land. Taxpayers funded government grants are staggering in millions as benefits to QAC and there is no accountability. It is important to note that these aboriginal corporations have certain exclusive rights. They don't have to pay any income tax, they don't have to pay any capital gain tax. They don't even have to pay any land tax and unlike us, they don't pay stamp duties and fees, et cetera. And furthermore, there is no accountability, no public accountability whatsoever. Members of the corporations are not share, members of the corporations are not shareholders, so the board is at the discretion to use all the earnings. They have easy access to capital grants for private business ventures.
They have exclusive employment benefits just for your information, 80% of the QAC employees are aboriginals. They have exclusive Medicare facilities here. All the Quandamooka country clinics in the Bayside area, they're around three or four, are exclusively for aboriginals. So people like me and you cannot go to those facilities. There is no gap payment. There is no waiting period and yes, covers the dental two s per their website. That's pretty good. They have leased public accountability. Unlike other business entities, any royalties, permit fees, land subleases income goes in the corporations kitty, they don't even have to pay dividends.
While Q claims is a success story, but sadly of only a few beneficiaries, it started in 2011 with a North Strat Brook native title claim. It didn't stop from there. 20 14, 90 8% of the Morton Island is under exclusive rights. Granted, it is also to be noted that both North Strat, Brook Island and Morton Islands are one of the world's largest sand reserves, so we've lost a huge chunk of resources of our area to this corporation. In 2017, their land grabbing didn't stop. They started with a coastal claim, which is in progress in 2025. It's due for hearing soon, starting on the 1st of September, 2025. The native title claims covers a lot of islands, which we'll go more into detail in the next slides. The state level capital grants are staggering in millions, and we'll go more into details as well. There is millions of dollars of grants from other government department, not just the state Department, and they have advisory panel position on most of the advisory boards for any state infrastructure projects in the area. Full rights on the earnings from all commercial activities such as jibar, camping and accommodation. In the financial statement 2022, and this is in the beginning start of the jibar camping, the total revenue was 15 million.
They have been able to change all the names of the area to original. It's a very soft strategy, but a very, very powerful one. They've been managed, they've managed to recognise, get their language recognised, their culture recognised. The council funds, the annual UBA Festival, which is coming up in a few weeks. They have the special healthcare facilities bulk built as we discussed. So it's a powerful entity in the neighbourhood, yet no one knows about it.
There is a federal court hearing on the 1st of September, 2025 with the new claim. It covers an area of 530 square kilometres. Approximately 3,500 properties owned and managed by councils are being impacted by this claim from 2017 to 2025. Millions have been spent by the Council in Litigation in mapping the area for the determination process. It is a mammoth of a project and there are 80 parcels, some of them where you go every day and you probably do not even recognise that they are at high risk.
Federal court is scheduled for hearing on September 1st, 2025, and we do not know what is going to happen by the end of the year. It is important to note that these corporations do not exist just by themselves. They have a whole government framework that supports structures such as in the case of Quandamooka Estate Management itself, and there are hundreds of such corporations and there are thousands of such native claims in Australia at the moment. At the state departmental level, there is a Jeba strategic oversight group. It consists of ministerial forums, steering committee reference groups, working groups and teams consisting of several public employees and paid consultants. In 2016 itself, they formulated the North Strad Brook Island Economic Transition Committee strategy to phase out the sand mining, and it took them 2016 to 2019 to stop the stand mining on North Strad Brook Island. Following that, UBA Futures was established and investment strategies to support Kooka Corporation.
It's budgeted at 60 million for capital outlays towards the Tourism Business Initiative, supporting QX private business potential. Every single earning from that business goes directly to qac, yet its funding by the government through our taxpayer's money. There is no private equity investment as they thought initially would come, which actually shows that there has been a zero trust in the business model and at the council level.
There has been an internal reconciliation plan in 2019, under which an 8 million investment was made in a 14.5 hectare space called an Indi Space Project. It's a very, very few kooka people live in this area and it's a very underutilised space. If you go there, you would hardly see 10 people who visits that space early in the morning. There is maintenance cost to the North Strat, Brook Island Public spaces, and it also for providing the General Space General Services. Yet our council, Redland City Council is also the respondent to the native title claims in the federal court and has spent millions in mapping the legal fees from its own budget allocation.
There was an interesting, interesting report, and I would encourage all of you if you can read this report in detail. It's by the Queensland Audit Office Report Managing Men Bar Futures, finding report number 14 24 25. It's highlighted several deficiencies in this whole scheme of things. Some of the audit findings basically said there's poor public reporting on the status of the projects.
There is no third party funding obtained, burdening the government expenditure endlessly. There's QA limited capacity to manage such complex projects and the responsibility being shifted to from one department to another. There's two third of the projects which are still incomplete. There is no community oversight or engagement. Questions and funding are quite grey with Jeba Futures funding at 39.4 million. Similar funding EQUIL processes, questionable for non men, JBA Futures funding for 38 million and a grumpy funding of 17.5 million for Art and Cultural Centre. It raises serious concern.
We've got a hundred million and we are still counting men camping. Audit findings were even fantastic. They've spent good about 2.2 million on 24 basic tents. The present situation is that there's hardly a few glamping stents on the Adams Beach. Three tents on the cylinder beach and six tents on the Bradbury Beach. And furthermore, the locals have to pay excessive permit fees, accommodation charges to camp on what was once a community asset, and also provide for maintenance through the treasury funds and council rates.
By the way, the Redland per household council rates are the highest in Queensland, and you know why? All revenue, all the revenue, 18 million and out of it 6 million is coming from the camping business. It just goes straight away to the cooperations kitti. So how does it benefit 98%? How does it benefit 98% of the non-indigenous, indigenous Australians who live in this area and how is it a fair distribution?
When we look at all this, it's important for us to look at it macro impact as well on our economy over here and also from the national point of view at present and also in future. So what has been the impact on the economy and nation from this decision, which started in 2011? Well, the tourism potential of the area is lost. There is no private investment in the area because of the native title.
Morton Bay is potentially a word heritage site for its beauty, but it is under the administration of a small group rather than the government. It is also the maritime routes and waterway upgrades project. All of them now require additional compliance and negotiations for any expansion. It is also to be noted that Morton Bay is a major cargo sea route and much of the marine industry is based in the port of Brisbane area.
More than 90% of the Queensland imports, I say more than 90% of the Queensland imports and exports goes through this area, these islands, these islands are natural barriers if you look at them carefully. They're significant from security and defence purposes in the event of war and otherwise. Besides that, there is of course the cultural loss of a early settlement history because everything started from these islands.
So what is the overall impact of this decision? There's no real output to the local economy, not now, not going to be in the future either. It's a hindrance to the economic and the social corridor expansion in the area. It increases the land prices as less land becomes available for housing and industrial projects. The native land holdings intervene with others' fundamental rights to access public spaces for camping, fishing, tracking, pet access areas, and also to perform our own rituals.
Well, the fact is only 4,200 aboriginal people live in the area. Most have household earnings similar to the other residents, and they also have the public welfare spending double the national average. This was stated in the productivity commission report.
So why such a special treatment? Is this actually uplifting the Quandamooka people? And if so, at what cost? Is it a risk to the coexistence of the 98% of the Bayside population and who is accountable for it and why is it going unchecked as a generation? We need to answer this question and find a way to stop this because it's getting a bit too late now.
Thank you.
