LAND on North Stradbroke Island will not be affected by two lots of legislation passed in state parliament on Thursday.
Parliament passed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land (Providing Freehold) and Other Legislation Amendment and amended the Land Act (1994).
The first grants indigenous councils the right to allocate community land to individuals as freehold land.
The second allows public access to areas of Queensland’s beaches that, due to erosion, have shifted on to private land.
Natural Resources minister Andrew Cripps said the freehold legislation would allow indigenous people the same property rights in their communities as are enjoyed by their fellow Queenslanders
Under the amended legislation, indigenous councils, as trustees of the land, will ask their community if the land should be made freehold.
Cleveland MP Mark Robinson said the legislation, due to take effect on January 1, would not affect indigenous land on North Stradbroke Island.
“This legislation is purely for selected remote communities and does not apply to North Stradbroke Island,” he said.
It is still unknown how amendments to the Land Act governing beach erosion will affect Redland City’s island communities.
Mr Cripps told Parliament beaches were some of the state’s finest assets and should be accessible to all.
Mr Cripps said the legislation affected about 250 lots across the state and only applied where severe erosion had taken away public reserve land so the beach was inside private property.
“Where it does occur, the public would generally continue to access the beach, oblivious to the fact that that part of the beach is now private property,” he said.
“Technically, the owner could currently be entitled to fence off the beach.”
Macleay Island resident Jim Annan has been lobbying the state and council to stop erosion on unallocated state land in front of his Russell Terrace home, which overlooks the Macleay Island foreshore.
Mr Annan said the legislation did not affect his land but he questioned why the state would allow people to walk along an eroded escarpment above the foreshore, which he perceived to be dangerous.
