‘We owe it to them’: Native Title claim for the Sunshine Coast region to go into final negotiations

Kabi Kabi traditional owners will move into the final stages for a Native Title claim covering a more than 12,000 sqkm stretch from Redcliffe to Bundaberg.

Most of the Sunshine Coast region, as well as all Gympie and Noosa, is covered under the Kabi Kabi Native Title claim.

A Native Title claim from the Kabi Kabi people stretching from Redcliffe to the Bundaberg region is set to move forward into the final stages of negotiations for one of the eight regions it covers.

The Sunshine Coast Council voted on Thursday April, 27 to authorise chief executive Emma Thomas to progress and finalise the determination of the Kabi Kabi Native Title claim for the region.

The claim covers 12,422 sqkm and over 250,000 individual parcels of land.

It spans across the local government areas of Brisbane, Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Gympie, Moreton Bay, Somerset, Sunshine Coast and Noosa.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said he supported the motion and said the council had made a good decision in voting it in unanimously.

“It’s not the end of the world as some people would like us to believe,” he said.

“The fact of the matter is that these people, after looking after these areas for many thousands of years were rounded up and moved on and not of their choosing.

“As a community we owe it to them that they are treated fairly.”

Councillor Maria Suarez said the decision would help the Kabi Kabi people re-establish their connection to the land and give them recognition.

“I think that’s really important to the Kabi Kabi people and I think our council should unanimously support this,” she said.

A map of the areas covered by the Kabi Kabi Native Title claim, with negotiations heading into their final stages.

The report submitted for Thursday’s meeting recommended council enter into an agreement made under s 87A Native Title Act 1993 with the claimants.

It stated that after extensive negotiations the parties to the proceeding, including council, had reached an “in principle agreement at an officer level” and that the claimants were seeking an order from the Federal Court, with the consent of all parties, that would formally recognise the Kabi Kabi people as Native Title holders.

“This is subject to final authorisation of the respective parties,” it read.

Kerry Jones is among the seven of the board of directors at the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation.

“Council must decide, by resolution, if it agrees to sign the Agreement and the terms of the Proposed Consent Order.”

The claim included seven representatives including Michael Douglas, Helena Gulash, Cecilia Combo, Melissa Bond, Norman Bond, Kerry Jones and Brian Warner.

All of them are listed as on the board of directors at the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation.

The claim is currently split into two parts, with Part A covering the majority of the area and a smaller southern section for Part B.

An initial claim was first filed in the Federal Court on May, 31 2013, with a second Kabi Kabi Undambi Area Claim filed on November 30, 2016.

Both claims were combined into what is now called the Kabi Kabi First Nation Traditional Owners Native Title Claim Group claim.

The currently proposed determination area does not include Part B and, as the Sunshine Coast was not included in that claim, the report recommended that council withdraw from Federal Court proceedings regarding Part B.

The report stated that other parties to the proceedings included Energex, Ergon Energy, Australian Gas Networks, Unity Water, Telstra, Lend Lease and SEQ Water, among others.

There has not been any community consultation on the report, but councillors attended a workshop in 2021.

Sunshine Coast Council's CEO Emma Thomas.

The report highlighted that Native Title claims could only be made on certain areas of land or water.

“For example, on vacant or unallocated State land but not on residential freehold land or public works like roads, schools or hospitals,” it read.

“Native Title usually exists alongside, and subject to, the rights of other people in the same area.

“It is expected that broad public rights will prevail over Native Title rights.”

The Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation was contacted for comment.