Source : Perth Now news
Traditional owners have lodged a claim over one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, while established sporting clubs face eviction after Aboriginal land councils took ownership of Crown land.
The Le Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council lodged the claim against Bondi Icebergs, one of Sydney’s most popular destinations frequented by global celebrities and locals alike.
The site sits at the southern end of Bondi Beach and is home to the nation’s most famous 50m ocean swimming pool and the world’s only licensed swimming club.
The Le Perouse Aboriginal Land Council submitted a claim against Bondi Icebergs in March 2020 and have been waiting for a decision by the Lands Minister.
Aboriginal land councils can lodge claims for the return of Crown land in NSW under the Aboriginal land rights Act that was established in 1983.
The Act recognises that Aboriginal people are the traditional owners of NSW land after the government took ownership following European settlement.
Claims are assessed and if successful the land is transferred to the Aboriginal Land Council as freehold.
2GB host Ben Fordham, who first revealed the claim on his program, said the land claim on Bondi Icebergs was sitting on the desk of the Minister for Lands.
He said there were more than 44,000 unresolved land claims across NSW waiting to be assessed and that Lands Minister Steve Kemper needed to “urgently step in and fix this system.”
“All it takes is a technical breach by a tenant for a land claim to be judged successful,” he said.
The Northern Suburbs Tennis Association at Naremburn’s Talus Street Tennis Centre, in Sydney’s north, faces eviction after the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council took ownership of the Crown land reserve as part of a 2022 land claim.
The club was handed an eviction notice and ordered to vacate the premises by September 30 ending almost five decades at the site.
The Waverton Bowling Club on Sydney’s lower north shore has been left to rot after the site of the 79-year-old harbour front club was returned to an Aboriginal land council.
“Every surf club on the eastern beaches of Sydney is facing a land claim too, North Bondi, Clovelly, Coogee, Tamarama, Bronte, Maroubra,” Mr Fordham said.
“They’ve all got land claims over them, and that’s just further proof showing why the government has to fix this chaos.”
The NSW Government proposed amendments to the Crown Land Management Act to ensure that established community and sport facilities on Crown land continue to be used for their intended purpose.
A NSW Government spokesman said community facilities should remain available to the communities that rely on them.
“That is why the NSW Government is progressing important legislation to ensure well-used community and sporting facilities on Crown land remain in public hands,” a spokesman said.
Bondi Icebergs and the Le Perouse Aboriginal Land Council have been contacted for comment.
