State Ombudsman investigation underway into controversial Aboriginal ‘land grab’ in Toobeah

The State Ombudsman has launched an investigation into a regional Queensland council’s handling of a controversial Aboriginal land transfer.

The State Ombudsman has launched an investigation into a controversial Aboriginal land transfer that will see a large reserve in a tiny Queensland town given to an Indigenous corporation.

The State Government is preparing to hand the 210ha reserve in Toobeah, near Goondiwindi, to the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation.

The corporation is seeking a transfer of the reserve under the Aboriginal Land Act which allows unallocated state land to be given to First Nations groups as “inalienable freehold”.

Toobeah publican Michael Offerdahl has been campaigning against what he has described as a secretive Aboriginal “land grab”, claiming it will result in 95 per cent of the town and $2m worth of land being given away.

Toobeah publican Michael Offerdahl has been campaigning against the transfer.

This has been hotly disputed by the Bigambul people, who say the reserve represents less than 1 per cent of the Toobeah district and is only meant to be used for travelling stock and associated camping - not by the wider public.

The Bigambul have pledged to preserve a town water easement and rodeo grounds access on the reserve, on which it plans an “eco-cultural attraction”.

Goondiwindi Mayor and LNP state president Lawrence Springborg has also defended the proposed transfer, saying claims Toobeah locals would lose a large slice of their town were “completely false”.

But the Ombudsman’s office has now launched an investigation into the Goondiwindi Regional Council’s handling of the issue.

It follows a complaint from Mr Offerdahl who contends the council mischaracterized the reserve as not being for general camping, a use he says was proclaimed in 1906.

Current proposed area to be transferred to the Bigambul Native Title group as of January 2024.

Mr Offerdahl also argues the council should have engaged in community consultation before agreeing to support the land transfer and failed to consider the Toobeah’s community’s right to access waterways and fish as enshrined under a native title determination for the area.

The Ombudsman has written to Mr Offerdahl to reveal it will investigate his complaint.

More than six million hectares of state land - which can’t be sold or mortgaged but is held in trust for the benefit of traditional owners - has so far been granted to Aborigines across Queensland.

Toobeah is one of 14 Queensland townships across the state, including Eurong and Happy Valley on K’gari (Fraser Island), where First Nations groups have lodged expressions of interest for state land.

Goondiwindi mayor Lawrence Springborg insists the town’s locals have nothing to fear. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Despite denying the Toobeah Reserve transfer is a done deal, the state government recently revoked the Goondiwindi Regional Council’s trusteeship of the Toobeah Reserve which it has held since 1906.

But Mr Springborg insisted Toobeah locals had nothing to fear, and claims they would be losing a large slice of their town were “completely false” and “complete misrepresentation”.

“There is not one square metre of people’s private freehold land, or land that can be lawfully accessed by the community, that can be impacted by this,” he told The Courier-Mail last month.

“These (Aboriginal) land transfers have been happening in Queensland since 1991.”

Mr Springborg said the Bigambul people had indicated they were “happy” to talk with Toobeah locals about giving them lawful access to the reserve which they currently did not have, “and there are members of the community who are keen to engage in that process”.

Toobeah, near Goondiwindi, has been divided since the government’s plans to transfer the 210ha town reserve to the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation were revealed.

He said the council would also negotiate with the Bigambul and state government to purchase native title-designated land in Toobeah for the town’s future expansion.

Mr Springborg, a former LNP state leader and current party president, said the council had no control over the land transfer but he had told the government the process needed to be overhauled to provide better community engagement.

The Bigambul have taken a thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Offerdahl, saying he had known about the proposed land transfer for years and “some community representatives have not been transparent with their own economic interests, access and use of the reserve”.

The Bigambul people have accused critics of the land transfer deal of peddling “mistruths and misinformation” and say they are committed to working with the community “to develop and improve the site for the benefit of all”.