Woorabinda Indigenous Land Use Agreement

The Gangulu and Wadja peoples have signed an agreement that will bring new housing and jobs to Woorabinda.

Woorabinda’s Indigenous land use agreement covers an infrastructure program for more than 40 housing lots, parkland and a recreation area for the 1240-strong community.

It also allows residents to buy the homes they have rented for years, giving them the same opportunity as other Queenslanders to become home owners.

“Traditional Owners agreed to the (land use agreement) in exchange for a raft of community-focussed benefits including a bush tucker garden at the Woorabinda Primary School and various cultural recognition and pride initiatives such as naming rights to the new subdivision and its parks and streets,” a government spokeswoman said.

“The council played a leading role in the negotiations to ensure that the new subdivision also includes a large park area with barbeques and children’s playground.”

The agreement, signed in May, allows Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council to operate as trustee for the area’s Traditional Owners. It will be able to authorise the construction and leasing of new social housing and grant ownership leases.

The council has endorsed six new houses, to be funded under the National Partnership Agreement for Remote Indigenous Housing in 2011–12. Thirteen houses were previously built under the program and all are tenanted.

A cultural heritage agreement allows Traditional Owners to monitor works to identify and protect any Aboriginal cultural heritage that may be discovered during the work.