Aboriginal Land Council chairman Michael Mansell has criticised the state government’s review of land handbacks, pointing out a recent discussion paper has not identified any land intended to be returned.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The government last week released the paper, Improving the model for returning land to the Aboriginal community, which has sought to identify barriers to returning land and to improve the process.
Mr Mansell said there had not been land returns for 13 years.
“We are having a review about land returns that are non-existent,” he said.
“If the government wants to review how land is to be returned then let’s see the land they are talking about returning first.
“The review document does not mention a single block of land the government is considering returning to the Aboriginal people.”
Mr Mansell said all Crown land should be returned to the state’s Aboriginal people although there may be some land the government would need to retain in order to provide benefits to the broader public, like recreational areas.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jacquie Petrusma said the paper was focused on reviewing the model for returning land to the state’s Aboriginal community.
She said it was out for consultation so a wide variety of people had the opportunity to provide input.
“The Office of Aboriginal Affairs will be holding stakeholder meetings including with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania,” Ms Petrusma said.
The government has so far handed back 55,617 hectares of Crown land to the Aboriginal community, including Oyster Cove, Cape Barren Island and part of Bruny Island.
