Member for Ballina Tamara Smith MP has secured a review of the NSW Labor Government’s decision which dispossessed the Aboriginal community of Cabbage Tree Island from their traditional lands, with Minister for Aboriginal Affairs David Harris now committing to a ‘future on the island’ for residents.
Smith questioned Mr Harris on the matter in NSW Parliament yesterday, asking ‘Minister, since your recent visit and meeting with members of the Cabbage Tree Island community, have you considered their request to return to the island, and rebuild their homes on the island, with the funding that was allocated to them after the 2022 floods?’
In response, Mr Harris announced, ‘The NSW government is committed to supporting the Cabbage Tree Island community and Jali LALC towards a safe and culturally appropriate future on the island.’
Background
The former Liberal National government had promised funding so that the community of Cabbage Tree Island could rebuild their homes and return home.
However, in a letter from two Deputy Secretaries sent to Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council on 25 August 2023, the Department of Planning and Environment reversed this stance, stating that the new government ‘cannot in good faith financially support a rebuild on the island for residential purposes’.
Tamara Smith spoke out against this decision after meeting with Cabbage Tree Island residents earlier this month and hearing their requests for a return to the Island.
The Member for Ballina says, ‘The NSW government have made a commitment to me that they will be urgently reviewing their decision to dispossess the Cabbage Tree Island community, which is very welcome news. It is also great to hear that the Aboriginal Affairs Minister is committed to a “future on the island” for the Cabbage Tree Island community.’
More than a home
‘The government’s refusal to financially support the rebuild of Cabbage Tree Island homes devastated the First Nations residents of that community,’ said Tamara Smith. ‘Not only is Cabbage Tree Island their home – it is their identity.
‘The government’s commitment to an urgent review is the first step towards reversing this decision and getting a Bundjalung community back on their Country.
‘I commend the Labor government for its courage in acknowledging that wrong decisions have been made, and for changing course,’ she said.
‘I would especially like to thank the residents of Cabbage Tree Island for speaking up, and for taking the time to meet with me and share their stories. It has been an incredible privilege to take the stories of Cabbage Tree Island residents to the halls of our state’s parliament.
‘As the Member representing the Cabbage Tree Island community in parliament, I will be working closely with the NSW government to ensure that all possible pathways back to the island are explored.
‘The path of dispossession has come to a halt – but now we need to renew our struggle to ensure that the Bundjalung residents of Cabbage Tree Island are given the right to self-determine their future,’ said MP Tamara Smith.
‘My Greens colleagues and I will always speak out in support of our First Nations communities, and I am grateful to Minister David Harris, Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery Janelle Saffin, and Premier Chris Minns for working cooperatively on this issue.’
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