ELDERS SAY IGNORED AGAIN IN STRADDIE TEMPORARY LOCAL PLANNING INSTRUMENT
The North Stradbroke Island (NSI) community are again faced with a controversial planning proposal: the Quandamooka Aspirations Townships Expansions Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI).
Over the last month, the Island Aboriginal and non-Indigenous community members have been developing submissions and responses to the Redland City Council's proposed TLPI community consultations.
The TLPI is the result of Native Title (NT) land use agreement negotiations between the State Government and the NT prescribed body corporate, Quandamooka Yoolooburabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC).
Throughout the last six years, the NSI community have raised many concerns and objections to the State Government and QYAC NT facilitated planning process and settlements. The most recent being the NSI Economic Transition Strategy (ETS) planning. The ETS process was meant to be about creating an alternative sustainable economy to support the Island community at the end of sand mining. Community contentions developed in relation to the ETS proposals and its primary focus on tourism, involving commercial-in-confidence, negotiated settlements and State Ministerial Infrastructure Development proposal approvals.
The NSI TLPI has occurred in a similar process to the ETS, one that has excluded community, including many NT common law holders.
Many local Aboriginal and non-Indigenous community members have very little understanding of what the TLPI involves and have been intensely involved over the last month trying to obtain an understanding and make formal submissions before the submission close date on 11 July 2022.
Many submissions, including meetings with state opposition members, have raised concerns about the abuse of integrity facilitated by State Goverment through NT and ETS planning involving commercial-in-confidence agreements, ministerial infrastructure designations and exclusionary community processes.
The NT PBC, QYAC are land-use agreement partners with the State Government for the TLPI proposed planning and development. QYAC are also the registered cultural heritage body for the Island, causing concerns and objections amongst the Aboriginal community.
Island elders say current TLPI process facilitates Human Rights abuses against First Nation Traditional owners.
They say QYAC does not represent the views of all Quandamoooka common law NT owners. The QTE’s opposition to the proposed headland whale interpretive facility is but one manifestation of this.
The elders also say both State and local Government’s need to suspend the current TLPI process until the community concerns, including those set out in this statement are efficiently addressed through a proper, inclusive, holistic planning process.

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