Goulburn Mulwaree Council will pay more to extend a section of the Wollondilly Riverwalk following failure to reach agreement over an Aboriginal land claim.
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Councillors decided at their most meeting to allocate an additional $457, 618 to the extension, behind Goulburn Correctional Centre.
If not done, the council would lose about $1.15 million in grant funding for the project, the meeting heard. Under the grant guidelines, the work must be completed by June 30, 2024.
But it came amid criticism by some councillors. Cr Bob Kirk described it as a "sad indictment" that agreement wasn't reached between the parties.
In response, the Pejar Local Aboriginal Land Council (PLALC) and its state body said the land was significant to their people but they would work towards a "mutually beneficial outcome."
The council received $2 million in bushfire recovery funding in late 2020 to extend the riverwalk from Cemetery Street to the Joseph's Gate subdivision. A further $250,000 in grant funding was sourced in 2023 to cover inflationary increases for the project.
A report stated that 90 per cent of the work was complete, except a section behind the correctional centre that passed through two areas of the Crown reserve. Staff said they chose this route, between the river and Saint Saviour's cemetery, because it could accommodate the path alignment and fitted the budget. It ran around the cemetery's rear and emerged at a river crossing, which has been recently completed.
A spokesperson said staff understood this to be Crown land.
But the council was "later told" that the land parcel was subject to an Aboriginal land claim. This was registered in August, 2015 but hasn't been determined. As such, Goulburn Mulwaree Council (GMC) required permission from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) and the PLALC before a Crown lands licence could be issued.
Negotiations 'take time'
The meeting heard that these talks had started in late 2022.
A GMC spokesperson said the organisation wrote to both land councils in February, 2023 making a financial offer to them for land affecting a small section needed to build the shared pathway. Alternatively, the land councils could not raise objections to GMC's registration of an easement over the parcel and the latter would pay all deed agreement costs.
"Despite ongoing conversations and correspondence with both organisations, this matter has not been resolved," a GMC spokesperson said.
CEO Aaron Johansson said PLALC's board had changed in June, 2023 and a recommendation about the council's request was not received immediately by the new appointees.
"(The new board now) needs time to understand the impact before making a decision," he said.
"They said they would take this away (for consideration). NSWLAC reps were in the room but these things take time and the issue for us is (the extension)...needs to be completed by June 30."
As a result, the design was changed. This incurred $457,618 in extra costs.
The new route runs in front of the cemetery, behind the jail, and winds down to the new river crossing, below an old aqueduct.
Mayor Peter Walker said the council was "over a barrel."
"It's disappointing that it's going to be more expensive but we just need the public to understand the reasons why," he said.
Cr Jason Shepherd urged his colleagues to be "respectful" in their remarks.
Cr Bob Kirk said he wasn't happy with "the attitude in responding to a reasonable request" from GMC.
"We provide all the services to the community, including the PLALC members and this will potentially cost us an odd $400,000 extra. If we don't do it on time we lose another $1m. That's a sad indictment in my view," he said.
The extra money will come from a Copford Reach reserve, set aside for weeding and partial funding of a boat ramp (subject to grant funding), and the local infrastructure contributions plan. Councillors decided the Copford Reach reserve would be replenished at the next budget review.
A spokesperson for both land councils said the walking track's initial design was a "significant deviation" from the existing path and would "essentially make the lot unusable for PLALC, if the land was granted to them."
"The Wollondilly River is significant to the local Aboriginal community and the PLALC) as it forms part of the Gurangatch Dreaming story," she said.
"This dreaming story holds special spiritual significance, in particular the custodians of this Country as it relates to the Wollondilly River's creation. Rivers hold special significance to Aboriginal people as they provide life-giving water and signify inter-generational knowledge and culture transfer."
"...The Pejar LALC fully supports the Wollondilly Walking Track and how important this is for the entire community. The only thing we didn't support was withdrawing the current land claim."
The land councils said they would continue to work with GMC in a "constructive and respectful way" to achieve a mutually beneficial result.
They could not say when the land claim would be determined. In 2022 the NSWLAC criticised a backlog of 38,000 Aboriginal land claims in NSW.