Today in Atherton, representatives of the Tableland Yidinji People and the Tablelands Regional Council signed the ILUA which covers a 423sq km area, 23 km south-west of Cairns, cementing a relationship that has been built over a year of negotiations.

Tribunal Member Dr Gaye Sculthorpe, who mediated between the two groups, said the ILUA recognised the Tableland Yidinji People as the traditional owners of 437sq km of land and waters around Atherton, where they have a registered native title claim.

“ILUAs are broad and flexible agreements made under the Native Title Act about the use and management of land,” she said. 

“ILUAs can be stepping stones on the way to a native title determination, or parties can choose to develop ILUAs instead of seeking a consent determination in the Federal Court. This ILUA was made before the negotiation of a consent determination with the Council, the State Government and other parties.

“The agreement is based on a template ILUA established by the Local Government Association of Queensland and native title claimant representatives as a framework to assist parties with the development of ILUAs relevant to local government responsibilities.   

“Although the Council and the Tableland Yidinji People did not have a pre-existing relationship before talks began, negotiations proceeded smoothly, with frank discussions about issues of concern,” Dr Sculthorpe said.  “The ILUA formalises the good relationship they established during negotiations and provides a mechanism for ongoing communication through regular meetings.”

Now that the ILUA has been signed it will be submitted to the Tribunal for registration, the last step in the process of finalising the agreement.

Australia-wide there are 420 ILUAs on the Tribunal’s Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements, 217 of which have been developed in Queensland.