The site of the former Jindabyne Central School is currently subject to two Aboriginal land claims - one by the Bega Local Aboriginal Council and the other from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council. The former school land, located on Park Road Jindabyne (close to the town's CBD), was used by the NSW Department of Education up until the end of last year. A new education campus opened on the Barry Way, incorporating the Jindabyne Public School and Jindabyne High School. In January this year, the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council lodged its claim and in March, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council lodged another. Chair of the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council, Marcus Mundy, said the council has put forward a claim in the hope of unlocking the unused land. "Our people who have cultural connections to this Country here in Jindabyne do not have access to this land. They cannot access housing or employment and do not have the ability to share our culture or history, or establish economic ways to benefit from the land," Mr Mundy said. "By unlocking this unused land, it will enable our people to share culture, practice culture, and establish enterprises. "This will positively impact not only our people but the wider Jindabyne community." The chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Raymond Kelly, said he hopes the land is returned to the Bega Aboriginal land Council to improve the health and social outcomes for Aboriginal people in Jindabyne and Snowy Monaro. "While this specific claim is currently one of the more than 42,00 unresolved claims, NSWALC is currently working with the state government to ensure these are processed as quickly as possible, with the land returned to the LALC to commence Aboriginal management," Mr Kelly said. "We hope to see this site returned to Bega LALC so it can support economic, social and cultural outcomes for our people. A process that will benefit the entire community. "NSWALC is deeply committed to supporting all of the 121 Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) to ensure land and assets that are part of a land claim process are returned to the local community in which it is situated. "Through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (ALRA), a Land Claim refers to “disused” Crown Land that is not being used or maintained by the Government. The Jindabyne site satisfied this term as it was unused Crown land." Under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Local Aboriginal Land Councils have a statutory right to lodge land claims on Crown land. Once lodged, land claims must be assessed against strict non-discretionary statutory criteria in the Act, including whether the land is Crown land that was lawfully used or occupied at the time of the claim, or was needed for an essential public purpose. If the land is found to be lawfully used, occupied, or likely to be needed for an essential public purpose, the land claim will be refused. If a land claim is granted, the Crown land is transferred as freehold land to the ownership of the claimant land council.
