The outcome of Native Title negotiations in coming months will be critical for the property sector in Broome amid mounting development and cost pressures.
The outcome of Native Title negotiations in coming months will be critical for the property sector in Broome amid mounting development and cost pressures.
Negotiations have been ongoing regarding the crown land surrounding Broome since Native Title rights were first recognised 13 years ago,
With demand expected to exceed supply within three years, prices soaring, and increasing development pressure on the area as tourism booms, a resolution of Native Title is a key component of Broome’s future.
It is expected that next month will be critical in the negotiations, and if a settlement is not agreed on, a lengthy court process is expected to result.
Shire president and Kimberley Development Commission board member Tom Vinnicombe said he was optimistic a conclusion would be reached and that, despite the lack of a definite date, things were coming to a head.
“We are negotiating for a significant portion of land which covers the entire Broome Peninsula and more,” Mr Vinnicombe told WA Business News.
“We definitely need to free up more land for residential development, and a Broome steering committee has been formed and drawn up preliminary plans for future land usage.”
The steering committee has created a land use proposal that identifies future land use in the region. Mr Vinnicombe said that if Native Title was found to exist over those areas, the Rubibi people have agreed to those land uses, pending compensation.
“This is a significant step forward for making land available in Broome and there will be a great deal of interest when it is released for public comment, which should hopefully be by May 7,” he said.
The median house price in Broome ($350,000) is more than $100,000 above the median house price in Perth ($248,000). In order to attract and retain employees, the State Government subsidises several departments with mortgage and rent assistance.
Executive director of Roebuck Estate Construction, Rob Menzies, who project manages the two biggest of three current private residential subdivisions in Broome, said Native Title was having a significant impact on development.
“There is sufficient stock now with approximately 400-500 lots left in Roebuck estate, 100 in Sunset Rise and 100 in Old Broome Estate, but this is finite, and there are no other private subdivisions,” Mr Menzies said.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and property consultant Graham McGinn said there was no doubt that Native Title had affected land prices, and that once currently available land was developed there was nowhere to go.
He added that if it wasn’t for the 33-hectare LandCorp development on Cable Beach, land would run out next year.
The land was freed up for development through Native Title negotiations concluded late last year.
“The general feeling is that people are paying too much for blocks, and the first homebuyer market is being precluded from entering the market, so anything that will make land available cheaper is welcome,” Mr McGinn said.
A plan to relocate the Broome airport has been in negotiation for 10 years, but with the owners recently spending about $5 million on upgrades, plans to relocate are on hold for at least another 10 to 15 years.
Mr Vinnicombe said the airport owners had agreed to move the airport to a new site if the land was provided.
“The new land where they wanted the airport to go was subject to Native Title issues, and although negotiations were entered no agreement could be reached and the government didn’t want to push,” he said.
“So the airport owners spent the money to upgrade, which means that plans to relocate are no longer relevant.”
Former shire clerk of 23 years and partner in real estate company PRD for 11 years, Des Haynes, said the two main barriers to development were Native Title and planning bottlenecks.
“The government and stakeholders have been trying to resolve the Native Title issue for a long time, and to a large number of residents, it has hardly moved along and is taking a very long time,” Mr Haynes said.
Mr Vinnicombe said that, despite complaints the shire had been causing tourism developers concern in relation to planning regulations, council had a role to determine what was in the best interests of the community and tension between proponents of development and the shire were bound to occur.
“We are supportive of development, but it needs to be the right kind, and some proposals we have received are simply not appropriate,” he said.
