The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships has announced that more than 160,000 hectares of land in Cape York has been handed back to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people.
The agreement was finalised in a signing ceremony at Bloomfield, north of Wujal Wujal, last week (29 September).
The agreement involves the handing back of four national parks, including the world-famous Daintree National Park, that stretch from north of Port Douglas to south of Cooktown, while a new nature refuge will also be created.
Minister for the Environment, Meaghan Scanlon said the Daintree, Ngalba-bulal, Kalkajaka and the Hope Islands National Parks (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land) will now be jointly-managed by the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people and the Government.
Member of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners Negotiating Committee, Chrissy Grant said the goal was to establish a Foundation that would provide confident and competent people with pathways and opportunities for mentoring, training, apprenticeships, work experience and employment.
Ms Scanlon said the hand-back was a key step on the path towards reconciliation.
“The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people’s culture is one of the world’s oldest living cultures and this agreement recognises their right to own and manage their Country, to protect their culture and to share it with visitors as they become leaders in the tourism industry,” Ms Scanlon said.
‘“These national parks will protect important Aboriginal cultural sites, diverse ecosystems including rainforests, woodlands, wetlands and mangroves, and form part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area which is recognised as the second most irreplaceable world heritage site on Earth.”
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Craig Crawford said the land hand-back was the first place in Australia where Traditional Owners would simultaneously take on ownership and have a significant role in joint management of a World Heritage Area.
“It is truly ground breaking and shows that the Government is committed to reconciliation, a Treaty and righting the wrongs of past generations,” Mr Crawford said.
