A proposal to lease the Wingecarribee Aboriginal Community and Cultural Centre to the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council (ILALC) remains a contentious issue within the community.
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At the March 14 council meeting, councillors voted to put the 99-year lease proposal on public exhibition.
While the public exhibition period closes on Friday, some community members remain concerned about the proposal and believe it is not the best way forward.
Wingecarribee Aboriginal Community Association secretary Jo Albany said they association did not agree with the proposal.
Ms Albany said one of main concerns was that the ILALC had not been active in the Wingecarribee for many years, either in obtaining or providing services for Aboriginal people in the shire.
“Why would you give them a 99 year lease?” she asked.
Ms Albany said the association believed the centre should be run by the local Aboriginal community.
Councillor Larry Whipper, who has been involved with the Aboriginal community in the Highlands for more than 20 years, said local involvement was a part of the proposal.
He said council had spoken to ILALC about establishing an advisory committee of local Aboriginal people to facilitate outcomes for the centre to which it had agreed.
With a funding application currently underway to expand the centre, Cr Whipper said the lease would strengthen that application, giving certainty about the land tenure.
However Ms Albany said the association did “not agree with that as a reason” to go ahead with the lease.
Throughout the exhibition period, council has had meetings with Aboriginal Elders, community members and the 355 management committee, which ILALC CEO Paul Knight has been a part of.
“I really believe it [lease] is a precursor to self determination,” Cr Whipper said.
“We have to start looking at the bigger context and not just how it might affect a few individuals.”
Ms Albany said after working with the Aboriginal community for more than 20 years in the area, she had spoken to many people about the proposed lease.
“Very few people [I have spoken to] other than one Elder think it’s a good idea,” she said.
But Cr Whipper said the meetings had been productive and he had spoken to people in the Aboriginal community who supported the proposal.
“Council is trying to do the best for the local Aboriginal community. The consultation has been pretty broad and culturally appropriate,” he said.
