“What they’re saying is our history is of way less value than a dunnart, which doesn’t even live on our land anymore.”
And remarkably, there’s a suggestion that the National Parks and Wildlife Service was originally offered the land awarded to ULALC, and didn’t want it because it was of little conservation value, and adjoined an already developed residential area.
You might think that having finally won over National Parks and the Department of Planning, ULALC’s and Malbec’s plans for a major residential development things might race ahead.
They didn’t.
By the time ULALC got the project through the state government, five years had expired since NSWALC had given approval to develop the land.
“The valuation was old and out of date,” says Shane. That original valuation had the land worth $9,990,000. But factor in a global financial crisis, a crash in land prices on the South Coast, and the loss of 40 percent of the land as a conservation zone, and ULALC was left with a valuation of just $3.1 million, less than one-third of the original price.
“We could only keep the original approval if the land valuation stayed the same, and obviously our joint venture partners weren’t going to pay $10 million for the land if it’s now only worth $3 million.
“So we had to redo all the NSWALC approvals.”
But that wasn’t the only problem.
Not only was the development now worth far less, but the ULALC’s Community Land and Business Plan (CLBP) – basically the core document of a LALC which governs its plans for the next four years – is also at its use-by-date.
“Our whole CLBP was written around us making the money from this development.
“The employment programs we wanted to run from it, the housing plans, the education trust, a new office for the LALC, a language program – we needed money from the development to do everything we wanted to do.
“In the end, the only thing we were able to do was a sporting and education trust, from the land sales from minor properties.
“The CLBP is now at the end of its life and we haven’t achieved five out of the nine goals, which were completely dependent on getting this land deal through.”
So in 2010, Shane and the Ulladulla LALC dusted themselves off, and started again.
“We went and got new valuations. We had to go through the whole rigmarole of having meetings, drawing up new contracts.
“It’s taken another couple of years with a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing on prices.”
And finally, in 2012 – 12 years after they first began – ULALC are finally on the verge of realising their dream.
“We’re now hoping to do some advertising for the sale of some of the blocks of land in September, just to let people know it exists and it’s finally going to happen.
“We’re not 100 percent sure when the first earth will get turned… some time in the new year, depending on certain thing happening.”
NSWALC has already approved ULALCs new plans, at a full council meeting earlier this year.
“We’ve still got to get approval from the Shoalhaven City Council, but that shouldn’t be anywhere near as hard, hopefully, as getting approval from the Department of Planning.”
On the upside, the development is now poised to begin. The revised project is a 104-lot development. Stage One will see the release of 14 blocks of land, with sizes ranging from 500sqm to 700sqm.
In later stages, lot sizes grow to an impressive 1,750sqm.
Stage One will see the 14 lots cleared, and is expected to take several months. It will include roads, kerb and guttering, street lights, water and sewerage.
It’s expected to generate local employment for Aboriginal workers, and ULALC is looking to add value to the deal by selling timber for firewood.
With things finally moving again, Shane is circumspect about the battles he had to endure for more than a decade to get a relatively simply land development through.
And he’s hoping some of the lessons are learnt.
SEE OVER PAGE.
3 Comments
Land Grabbers thats all National Parks are. It just goes to show what they value, a Dunnart I know my people are endangered in this country and to think once we come under the National Parks and wildlife Act the mind boggles. It would be different if we had hundreds and thousands of acres in land in this state to play with. The governments of NSW since the inception of the Land Rights Act in NSW are shameful our claims are usually crap land the Gubbahs do not want ( only to a Murri wants it) and then we wait for decades to their departments make a decision on it Land Claims are a joke. Why is being a Murri so hard yes of course we are uniquely different but we are not stupid we all play the game hoping that the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter, our kids getting educated, our health to get better, our Elders living longer, our people and especially our youth stop being goaled. It is simple NO LAND NO PEOPLE all our losses stem from the disrespect of culture and foremost the dispossession of our Land. Our land was our whole being and it is not ownership how a Gubba sees it we feel it big difference
This is highly emotive subject, and the author should have been careful to potray the facts accurately and in a way that doesnt cause misunderstanding. Attributing blame to certain parties shouldnt be done in this way either. I personally know that some of this information is misrepresented.
Environmental laws apply to EVERYONE and are in place to protect our natural heritage for ALL future generations. Environmental assessments are not a mindless bureacratic box, which you try to get it ticked off before starting a development, but a process where you fully assess what is on the site and its true environmental value, to assess what restrictions should apply, or if development should occur at all. The results are important and not inconsequential.
I have heard the catch cry of ‘creating local jobs’ for decades in the Shoalhaven as a justification for development yet it has never really materialised, and is usually used to pressure government agencies into approving something without due process. The develpment process can also be delayed or have to be restarted totally if the proponents, owners, developers or concept plans change.
I was surprised at the tone of the article in which, the local Land Council appears to be mocking the findings of the Environmental Report. These reports are thorough and are conducted in a scientific manner. Given the Land Council’s claim to be connected with their land, I would naively assume the results would have pleased the Land Council. More or less, endorsing their claim to its importance. Maybe I am misunderstanding their connection with land.
I understand their are many complexities in this issue, and am disappointed that it has been portayed in this manner
I do understand that enviromental law is for everyone, it is a slow, expensive process. The understanding to what LAND means to Aboriginal people is a even slower process for Governments and the
non-aboriginal population. Lets just say Biame (God) gave us this land for us to care for it Sorry all land in this country was significant and sacred to one of the many Tribes that used to exist in this land.
Aboriginal connection to the land means our whole being our law and lore is based on its many features geographically and the many spiritual beliefs are associated to those features. Science will not tell you these things but the people will. All the red tape associated with development makes someone rich and it is not us Murris. As for Land Claims take a trip up my way and look at all the crown land that has been fenced off and leased to the neighbouring cocky or the would be Kidman as long as it dosn’t go to the Murris “shame” walk on country and feel it and know it then talk about connection.