Fifteen Queensland towns where Aboriginal groups have applied for freehold land transfers revealed

The 15 Queensland towns where Aboriginal corporations want state land to be handed to them as freehold property can be revealed for the first time. SEE THE MAP

Mt Isa is subject to a land transfer application by an Aboriginal corporation.

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Fifteen Queensland towns where Aboriginal corporations want state land to be handed over to them as freehold property have been revealed after the Miles Government initially refused to provide the list.

The towns have been named after uproar over the proposed transfer of state land to First Nations corporations on K’gari (Fraser Island) and at Toobeah near Goondiwindi.

Natural Resources Minister Scott Stewart has belatedly disclosed the towns involved following a question from former One Nation MP Steve Andrew in state parliament earlier this year.

The 15 towns range from Mt Isa and Maryborough through to the tiny Cloncurry Shire township of Duchess which has just 53 people.

The government initially refused to name the towns, citing the “privacy” of Aboriginal groups which have lodged expressions of interest to have the land transferred to them as “inalienable freehold”.

But Mr Stewart tabled the list recently in parliament where he also revealed that 6.7 million hectares of land, or 3.93 per cent of the state, had been transferred under the Aboriginal Land Act or Torres Strait Islander Land Act since 1991.

This included 11 parcels of land transferred in 2023-24.

Both the minister and Premier Steven Miles defended the land transfers in parliament, with Mr Stewart saying the land “can never be sold” and is held in trust for First Nations people.

“The grant of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander land recognises the spiritual, social, historical, cultural and economic importance of land to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people,” he said.

Thargomindah is one of 15 Queensland towns where Aboriginal corporations want state land to be handed over to them as freehold property. Picture: Josh Woning.

Mr Miles also defended the land transfers, saying the land transfer applications by Indigenous groups were not for townships but for “discrete parcels … that have relevance to the applicants”.

“I am proud of my government’s commitment to working alongside First Nations people in recognising their deep spiritual connection to their land and supporting their preservation of culture, customs and traditions,” he said.

“Applications are treated confidentially and with cultural sensitivity but, to be clear, an application does not guarantee that land will be made transferable; nor does an application give the applicant the right to be granted the land under the act.

“There are processes under legislation that are followed by the Department of Resources, in consultation with interest holders and local councils, before any decisions are made. I am advised this has been the case since 1991.”

Department of Resources figures show almost 70 parcels of land have so far been declared transferable by the state government since 2001.

Despite government and Aboriginal corporation assurances that communities have nothing to fear, the latest land transfer bids have whipped up widespread concern, with locals labelling them a “secretive” land grab.

K’gari (Fraser Island) is subject to an Aboriginal corporation’s freehold land claim. Picture: Matt Raimondo

After community outcry over the Toobeah proposal, Mr Andrew asked Mr Stewart a question on notice in parliament in May about the consultation process, how the land transfer would impact the townspeople’s “property rights” and how many other towns in Queensland were the subject of freehold expressions.

In a response tabled in June, the department said the ALA did not require “broad community consultation” but a Toobeah town forum had been held in March.

Mr Andrew said the land transfers were being made “with no consultation”.

“The results of the (Voice) referendum showed that people are just sick of division – they’re sick of all the ‘them’ and ‘us’ stuff,” he told The Courier-Mail in June.

“I don’t know why the government’s pushing it all of a sudden. How come they aren’t being open and honest?”

Speaking on Friday, Mr Andrew said the government needed to be “open and transparent” if it claimed Queenslanders had nothing to fear.

“If there’s nothing to fear, why the secrecy?” he said.

“Why aren’t they being more transparent and giving an open understanding of what’s happening. If they were honest and open in the beginning, we wouldn’t even get to the point of being fearful.

“It’s no good coming out after the fact and saying ‘there’s nothing to fear’. No-one’s got anything to fear if you’re upfront at the beginning.”