Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and cabinet head to Thursday Island for first time

The Premier and her cabinet head to Thursday Island for the first time for a hand-back of land to Traditional Owners.

A significant hand-back of land to Traditional Owners in the Cape and a meeting with the Torres Strait councils and mayors is set to take place, as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her cabinet head to Thursday Island for the first time.

Ms Palaszczuk is set to arrive at Thursday Island on Monday and will hold a meeting of cabinet there, the first for her government and the third time it has been done since Campbell Newman in 2013 and Anna Bligh in 2011.

As part of the trip, representatives of the community on the island, population 2805 as of the recent census, will be able to raise issues with government ministers.

Cook MP Cynthia Lui, who lobbied Ms Palaszczuk to get cabinet up to Thursday Island, signalled health, housing and education as areas that needed attention.

The trip to the administrative hub in the Torres Strait – known by its traditional name Waiben – comes just weeks after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brought a delegation to speak to leaders about a referendum on the voice to parliament.

As part of the trip, representatives of the community on the island will be able to raise issues with government ministers. Picture: Joachim Gast / EyeEm/ Getty Images

Ms Palaszczuk said that she was looking forward to travelling there, and that it was “important to engage across Queensland”.

“Listening to all Queenslanders is important to me. That’s why we will hold deputations for the community to discuss any issues they would like to raise directly with ministers and me,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk is also expected to inspect the $46m redevelopment of Thursday Island, meet with councils and mayors, hold a traditional community reception at the island’s cultural centre, and visit students at the Tagai State College on Tuesday.

She will then travel to a community in the Cape for a land hand-back ceremony, while ministers are expected to fan out across the Torres Strait through the week.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

One of the 13 meetings that ultimately led to the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart and its calls for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament was conducted on Thursday Island.

Torres Strait Islander leaders, almost a fortnight ago, released the four-point plan known as the Masig Statement, which calls for regional sovereignty in the Torres Strait by August 2037.

The four aims outlined in the Masig Statement are to achieve self-determination for the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula area people; freely determine political status and pursue economic, social and cultural development; self-government in matters relating to internal and local affairs; and create partnerships with regional stakeholders and the state and federal governments.