Locals Argue Against Plan to Hand Over ‘95 Percent’ of Town to Aboriginal Corporation

The Queensland government plans to hand over the tiny town of Toobeah, southwest of Brisbane, to the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation.

An Aboriginal flag is seen through the crowd at the "Stop Black Deaths In Custody" march in Perth, Australia on Oct. 7, 2023. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Locals in the small Queensland town of Toobeah—pronounced “two beer”—400 kilometres southwest of Brisbane on the Queensland/New South Wales border, have been surprised by plans to hand over “95 percent” of freehold town land to a local Aboriginal corporation.

They claim they were not consulted during discussions between the Goondiwindi Regional Council and the Queensland Labor government to hand over the 220-hectare Toobeah Reserve to the Bigambul Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC).