Legislation introduced by NSW's Labor government that would fundamentally change how crown land is allocated have passed the upper house, prompting fresh criticism from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.
Under existing law, Aboriginal land councils can make claims on crown land provided it is unused, not needed or not being used lawfully, a measure designed to address historical dispossession.
The proposed changes would allow the government to retrospectively amend crown leases, potentially affecting more than 43,000 undetermined land claims.
"It's very sad to see a Labor government who introduced the Land Rights Act back in 1983 is the one now pulling apart land rights," councillor Ross Hampton said on Wednesday
It goes against the intent of land rights legislation, chair Raymond Kelly said, describing it as bad law.
"We are sick and tired of becoming a political football, and we feel with this, with a looming election next year, it feels just like what's happening," he said.
Mr Kelly also slammed rhetoric accusing Indigenous people of engaging in "land grabs."
"These statements, they injure our people," he said.
"If we're really talking about how to how to repair relationships and to build a future ... the government needs to stand up and call out this dog-whistling, because that's what it is."
Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday said the point of the legislation was to prevent the loss of community land to land claims across the state.
"We don't want to be antagonistic to land councils. We believe it's been an important reform for our state," he said.
NSW community and sporting organisations have called for the bill to be passed with urgency, saying groups using crown land faced uncertainty because of "ambiguous laws".Â
The laws allowed the council to take control of Paddington Bowling Club in 2025 after it sat unused for a decade.
The High Court ruled 3-2 rent being paid on the site since 2015 was not enough to stop the land claim.
"Properly construed, land is only 'used' ... if, when the claim is made, the land is physically deployed for a purpose," the court said at the time.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has expressed support for the bill, saying a "technical breach" by a community organisation or sports club could leave the land they used open to being claimed.
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