Council seeks clarity of Quandamooka native title claim for Redlands mainland

The Redland City Council has defended a non-claimant application of native title on the Redlands mainland, claiming the move was to seek "clarity" over native title status on lots in Wellington Point, Cleveland and Victoria Point.

The Council's efforts have "significantly delayed" claim progress on the mainland, according to a Native Title legal expert.

A Council spokesperson said its non-claimant application with the National Native Title Tribunal to seek "clarity" over native title status on lots under the claim area was not intended to defeat the native title interests of the Quandamooka People, but to prevent issues arising in the future.

The Quandamooka Coast Claim was registered by the National native Title Tribunal in 2017 and is in the Federal Court process.

As a party to the matter, Redland City Council took part in an assessment of the land and waters in the claim area to determine where native title could be recognised where it has not been extinguished by acts of government and exclusive possession.

The claim area includes 1301 lots, and of those, the state approved of 82 where native title could be recognised and had not been extinguished in 2019.

Queensland South Native Title Services (QSNTS) Principal Legal Officer Tim Wishart said Redland City Council had disputed the assessment and said no lots in the area could recognise native title.

"The Quandamooka People's application does not ask for land or for land to be transferred or 'handed back'," he said.

"The application fundamentally seeks orders that native title exists in the claim area and that the Quandamooka People hold that native title.

"[Council] has brought two applications to the Federal Court seeking orders that native title does not exist in land and waters within the external boundary of the Quandamooka Claim area."

"In the tenure assessment, only three small lots were identified over which exclusive native title could be recognised."

A Redland City Council spokesperson said the purpose of the non-claimant applications was to clarify whether or not native title had been extinguished on public lots of land owned or managed by Council.

"The extensive body of work tabled by Council in its no-claimant applications aims to help clarify whether native title had been extinguished on 3,500 Council-owned or managed sites," they said.

"...There are around 80 in particular that Council is looking for clarity on whether or not public works at the sites or prior tenure, extinguishes native title.

"Council is looking for a shared understanding around how the claim could impact on Council operations, services, community use areas such as parks, playgrounds, tracks and trails, and the Quandamooka Peoples' exercise of their native title rights.

"We would like to have this shared understanding earlier rather than later when questions around what can and can't occur on land arise.

"It is important to note that the 2017 Quandamooka Coast Claim (QC2017/004) has sought the exclusive possession and use of all the approximately 530 square kilometres of the Redlands Coast except land that has been 'extinguished'."

The spokesperson said examples of lots within the claim area where the state government and the native title applicant asserted exclusive native title rights existed included the eastern side of Wellington Point Recreation Reserve where car and trailer parking exists on reclaimed land, parts of Cleveland Point, part of Henry Zeigenfusz Park at Cleveland, the Passage Street foreshore at Cleveland and the open space west of the Cleveland Cemetery.

"If Council agreed with the State Government and Quandamooka claimant, then these could be handed over for exclusive native title possession. Instead, council is asking for clarity of the past works and tenure of these sites."

Mr Wishart said the claim only sought exclusive possession over three small lots.

"The Quandamooka People's claim that is currently before the court does not make any claim for recognition of native title where the native title has been extinguished by an act of government."

Mr Wishart said Council was aware that native title did not include land in private or public freehold owners like houses and businesses, and should have knowledge that the claim was non-exclusive.

"Despite that, Council has undertaken its own assessment of lots in Quandamooka claim area and retained top tier law firm Corrs and Chambers Westgarth and QC Jonathan Horton, to support its position," he said.

The Council spokesperson did not say how much in ratepayers dollars had been spent on legal costs for the non-claimant application.

Mr Wishart said the answers to Council questions were publicly available and easily accessible.

"The Queensland Land Titles Registry lists every lot in Queensland that is freehold land. The status of any of those lots can be readily found by making a simple and inexpensive search of the Titles Register," he said.

"The matters for which Redlands says it need clarity are readily available, but Council has spent thousands of dollars of ratepayers money in an effort to get what it says is clarity about the status of land and structures that are a matter of public record, and significantly delayed the process of the Quandamooka people's claim, despite the agreement reached by the Quandamooka people and the State of Queensland."