Natasha Robinson & Sarah Elks; 24/12/09
Traditional owners in remote north Queensland communities have denied that native title laws are acting as a barrier to home ownership on indigenous land. Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey said he did not accept that complex negotiations over native title had stalled the progress of a Queensland government scheme designed to enable private home ownership in Cape York communities “The traditional owners are quite happy for Palm people to move towards financial and economic development for their town – and that means owning homes,” Mr Lacey said yesterday. Mr Lacey’s comments came after statutory body Indigenous Business Australia blamed native title laws for blocking the signing of individual 99-year leases on lands held under Aboriginal trust in Queensland.
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Housing, Human Rights, Land