Member for Ballina Tamara Smith MP is today calling on the NSW Premier and the Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Harris to undertake an urgent and independent review of the NSW government’s decision not to allow the residents of Cabbage Tree Island to return to live on the island after the 2022 floods.
Cabbage Tree Island is a discrete Aboriginal community located on the Richmond River, between Broadwater and Wardell, part of the Bundjalung Nation. At the time of the 2022 floods there were 220 Aboriginal people living on the island. Their homes are rented from Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council, who own and manage the land on behalf of the Aboriginal community.
As Tamara Smith points out, since April 2022 the former Liberal National government, (and since March 2023 the current NSW Labor government) have claimed that they have consulted appropriately with the Cabbage Tree Island community, and that as Aboriginal people it would be the community of Cabbage Tree Island that would be determining their own future.
Promises
Former Premier Dominic Perrottet promised the community of Cabbage Tree Island that they could rebuild their homes on the island and go home. This was also promised by the CEO of Jali Land Council Chris Binge.
However, in a letter to Jali Land Council on 25 August 2023 the NSW Department of Planning and Environment removed the decision from Jali, by saying that the government would not financially support a rebuild on the island for residential purposes.
Last Tuesday, Tamara Smith attended with NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs David Harris and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin a series of meetings with Cabbage Tree Island community members and other key Aboriginal organisations in the Ballina electorate.
She says it became patently clear that the people who are being dispossessed of their homes – the 24 families – have had almost no voice or agency in the process that saw the government intervene and deny them the option of returning home to the island.
Ms Smith told The Echo, ‘I heard directly from families on Tuesday and over the months since the decision that all but a few of the community want to return home to the island. They have been denied self determination and agency in their own lives and it is unacceptable.
‘The Premier and the Aboriginal Affairs minister must halt the path of dispossession and review the decision,’ she said.
‘I have seen the Water Technology report that the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs commissioned at the behest of Jali Land Council to investigate options for the families to return to the island and there is a very clear pathway outlined for a return to the island.
‘Why then did the Labor government override Aboriginal self-determination and processes at the 11th hour?’ she asks.
‘I have had reported to me over the last 16 months repeated instances of failures in the consultation processes leading to the decision including only junior bureaucrats representing agencies and ministries throughout the process despite the seriousness of the situation, and the devastating trauma and impact of any decision on the Cabbage Tree Island community,’ said Tamara Smith.
Shameful
‘Why has the Labor government lied to the community and put traumatised people though a long process of so-called consultation only to dictate their fate in the end?
‘It is shameful and a review of the whole process over the last 17 months must be undertaken immediately before it is too late, and to allow for the voices of the residents and community who lived on the island to have their voices heard by government,’ concluded the Ballina MP.
The Echo has also seen Water Technology’s August 2023 report, which sets out a number of clear pathways for community to return to Cabbage Tree Island while dealing with the issues of safety, cost, and insurance.
The Jali Land Council specifically excluded the writers of the report from examining crucial questions including community aspirations and cultural connection with the island.
That said, the report writers did consult with Ballina Shire Council, a major insurance company and local rebuilding managers to identify six possible paths ahead, ranging from repairing all existing homes and rebuilding four demolished home to the 1-in-100 year flood standard, to demolishing all homes and builiding new homes to the 1-in-500 year standard.
Associated costs range from $13.9 million to $27.3 million, with ongoing expenses mainly related to different insurance costs according to the rebuilding approach.
As the situation is reportedly deteriorating in the Wardell pod village, with allegations and counter-allegations swirling, and tension ratcheting up in the community, we will be following this issue up with all concerned stakeholders.
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