Aboriginal Land Council’s plan to develop land copping hate on the Northern Beaches
An Aboriginal land council proposal to develop a block of land on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has been subject to strong objection from many locals, with a number making racially motivated responses to the plan when it was made public.
NSW
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In what is a first for NSW, an Aboriginal land council is proposing to develop a slice of Crown land itself rather than sell it to a developer.
But the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council’s plan to put 450 homes on 71ha at Belrose on the Northern Beaches has created a storm of controversy.
The elders believe this plan would allow them to preserve nearly 1000ha of other land across Sydney and help members of their community – but locals are not happy.
“We are the largest private owners of land in the Northern Beaches and Hornsby (local government areas), yet we have also become the largest ratepayers with the largest liabilities,” MLALC CEO Nathan Moran said. “The best way is to develop land and generate an income to address our needs.
“We are the first local Aboriginal land council to say that we can develop land rather than sell it.”
Many locals want the area, known as Lizard Rock, to remain bushland. When the plans were put on exhibition at the start of the year they drew 986 objections.
These included it “is incongruent with the principles of Indigenous people” and would attract “McMansions”. Another wrote: “If you do this you may as well not call the area Frenchs Forest and change the names of the suburbs to Miller or Airds” – referring to low socio-economic areas in Liverpool and Campbelltown once almost exclusively public housing.
Mr Moran said it would be a private, freehold land release.
“We do have a right to retain a percentage to address affordability, but it will not be a 100 per cent public housing model like Airds,” he said.
He also hit out at claims from some opposition groups that other Aboriginal elders in the area are against the development.
“There are no Aboriginal owners, confirmed rights owners, on the Northern Beaches,” he said.
“If someone says they are connected through culture they go through a process; it’s land rights or native title. There are no native title holders on the Northern Beaches. It’s wedge politics at its worst when non-Aboriginal people claim that self-identified Aboriginal people speak as Aboriginal.”
Mr Moran said some of the policies of the former Warringah council, which singled out MLALC land as being quarantined from development in 2008, could have amounted to “discrimination” and “institutionalised racism”.
Earlier this month, Planning Minister Anthony Roberts released the Northern Beaches land development delivery plan, which opens the door for the MLALC to potentially develop six sites.
Mr Roberts, who has been tasked by Premier Dominic Perrottet with rapidly improving housing supply across the state, broadly supported the plan.
“The sites they’ve identified, including Lizard Rock in Belrose, have the potential to support new homes, job-generating development and other community assets, which, if realised, will be a great boon to the Northern Beaches,” Mr Roberts said.
The development is opposed by Northern Beaches Council. Mayor Michael Regan said: “There must be alternative ways the government can support Aboriginal self-determination that don’t result in inappropriate development.
“We have recommended a lease or similar arrangement that will still provide ongoing income for the land council while protecting the land from development. Council absolutely supports the spirit of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, which seeks to transfer unused Crown land to Aboriginal land councils as recognition of past dispossession and to support self-determination.
“However, we oppose this development and are disappointed the government has ignored our, and many community submissions which raise serious issues.”
The Save The Northern Beaches Bushlands group has been fighting the proposal.
“We need to look after our environment and not destroy it basically for a greed-over-need proposal,” a spokeswoman said. “It is precious bushland.”
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