It may have been nearing the end of a hot day when a politician’s thoughts are likely on a cold beer and a hot dinner, but Noosa MP Sandy Bolton had filled the house when she rose to speak on the Cooloola Great Walk during the adjournment debate just after 7pm on 15 March.
By the time she had completed a short but impassioned plea for greater government transparency on Cooloola, for the Kabi Kabi First Nations factions to explain their differences over it, and for a pause to be placed on approvals for the proposed Great Walk ecotours project until there was greater clarity, the popular no-nonsense Independent had sent shock waves through several government departments.
In her speech, after acknowledging the amendments made by both sides of the house to bring the Nature Conservation Act 1992 into line with current conservation and Indigenous objectives, she said: “This sounds rightly appropriate in efforts of reconciliation. However, as we have seen in Noosa with the Cooloola Great Walk project, good intent does not overcome some concerns in our community… Noosa is a compassionate and inclusive community and is extremely supportive of efforts that involve First Nations people.
“However, this support is at risk through a lack of finer detail in the Cooloola project itself, the Indigenous land use agreement and Native Title negotiations, poor communication from government and public conflict between local Indigenous factions.”
Ms Bolton’s efforts to engage with Kabi Kabi people across the board are well known in Noosa and beyond.
Just last month, after the picnic table launch of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Noosa Area Management Plan, she told Noosa Today: “This was a new kind of meeting for me and I think it was fantastic to have an open conversation and also to feel the genuine excitement from Kabi, and their positive hope. But also, their realistic viewpoints about the present and the future… I think the Noosa Area Management Plan is a first for Noosa in that it outlines the partnership between Kabi and QPWS in a way that has never been done before. There has never been such extensive collaboration.”
But a month can be a long time in politics, and Sandy Bolton is not the only person closely following the Cooloola issue who now fears that a void of information from both government and Kabi Kabi could damage that collaboration by fostering a culture of misinformation.
She told the parliament: “Currently, I am awaiting a response from the Kabi Kabi corporation in response to questions from Kabi Kabi women, as we have no state government avenues for some answers… In addition, I have requested a meeting be convened between Kabi Kabi factions to find a common path to walk together. As I have been advised that it is inappropriate for non-Indigenous to attend such meetings, it is hoped that they would then consent to gathering afterwards with our community in order to clear the air about their conflict in a transparent, respectful and meaningful way. This is essential and, until this occurs, final approvals for the Cooloola Great Walk project should not be granted to ensure a future free of negativity.”
The questions from Kabi Kabi women Ms Bolton referred to are from a Kabi Grandmothers Gathering (see Letters, Questions about the Cooloola Great Walk) and are themselves partly based on misinformation about where the proposed campsites are situated.
The “public conflict” between Kabi Kabi factions is harder to pinpoint, but a close reading of Ms Bolton’s carefully-worded speech indicates that she is not expecting or asking the factions to resolve their differences and reach an agreement, but merely to air their views and explain to the wider community on which points they agree and disagree, which would seem to be a reasonable request.
In parliament last week Ms Bolton concluded on a hopeful note: “Be assured that I remain supportive of Kabi Kabi efforts, as would the vast majority of Noosa residents. However, it is not possible to support processes and projects that lack open and timely communication from all involved. If we cannot get some truth telling in relation to this, we are not providing the environment and framework necessary for a successful return to country for Kabi Kabi, nor endeavours such as Path to Treaty.”
Speaking to Noosa Today later in the week Ms Bolton said: “Our community deserves to know the facts, all the facts, and it’s good to see that the government is moving on truth telling at last.”
