Lawrence Springborg defends controversial Toobeah land deal

Goondiwindi’s mayor has defended a land transfer which will see a town reserve handed as freehold to an Aboriginal corporation, saying not even ‘one square metre’ of private land will be impacted.

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Goondiwindi mayor Lawrence Springborg has defended a controversial land transfer which will see a town reserve handed as freehold to an Aboriginal corporation.

It comes as the proposed transfer of the 210ha Toobeah Reserve, in the tiny town of Toobeah near Goondiwindi, moves a step closer with Mr Springborg’s council recently stripped of its 118-year management of the land by the state government.

The tiny town of Toobeah, near Goondiwindi.

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

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 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.

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 Regional Council Mayor Lawrence Springborg.

Despite denying the land 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 said 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 said.

“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”.

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”.

Originally published as Lawrence Springborg defends controversial Toobeah land deal