The vacant block, between King and Best Streets in the village, belongs to Wagga Local Aboriginal Land Council. The group wants to carve it up into 24 residential blocks, which chief executive Lorraine Lyons said would fund much-needed programs. 

“We’re asset-rich and cash poor,” Ms Lyons said. “This is about getting funds into the community to provide assistance. We’ve got the building now to do it and we want to set up a keeping place to preserve our culture and heritage, a men’s shed to share skills and some programs for our youth.”

However, the proposed subdivision doesn’t meet council regulations. Under Wagga City Council’s development control plan, the minimum lot size would be about 2000 square metres. But the owners want to sell lots from 666 to 1066 square metres, which would give them 24 lots and potentially funding for several projects.

Uranquinty Progress Association president Deb Bewick said the proposed lot sizes were just too small and existing infrastructure would struggle to keep up with increased gas, sewer and water demands.

“Traditionally that land would have about 10 blocks on it and the development guidelines say it needs to match the older style,” Ms Bewick said. “We agree with 10 blocks it’s probably not economically viable by the time it’s all put together but the big thing is this land they got for free, it was given to them and they’ve done nothing with it for however long they’ve had it.”

A report from Wagga City Council staff noted several objections to the proposal, including lot sizes, a poor fit with the character of the village and the “unnecessary removal of native vegetation”.

For 35 years, NSW has returned land to Aboriginal communities in an effort to compensate them for “stolen” land and provide economic independence. Ms Lyons said some of the blocks her group had been given were either unusable – such as travelling stock routes – or inaccessible by any means other than a helicopter. Given the size and location of the Uranquinty land, she believed it made sense to sell it off for housing – a directive that had come from the government.

“We were told we need to be self-sufficient by the minister, that we need to use our land for a purpose and we want to fund programs ourselves,” Ms Lyons said. “Closing The Gap isn’t working and for the future of our children we need real equality, we want our youth to have the same opportunities as everyone else. We want to empower our kids and give them confidence… I’d love to see one of our people run the country one day.”

Wagga City Council staff have recommended the subdivision be refused and councillors will decide the project’s fate at Monday night’s council meeting.