IPSWICH MP Jennifer Howard recently launched a defamatory attack (under cloak of parliamentary privilege) against local journalist Brian Bennion, for his coverage of the campaign to protect Deebing Creek.

I’ve observed Brian’s work with various media organisations over several years now.

He’s always acted with integrity and a commitment to telling hard truths, so if powerful politicians are having a go at him, he should take that as a compliment.

Deebing Creek is arguably one of the most significant and inspiring Aboriginal land rights struggles in Queensland history, dating back decades to when the Bjelke-Petersen government tried to clear the forest for a golf course.

In early 2019, property developer bulldozers would have cleared much of the forest around the former Aboriginal mission if Yuggera Ugarapul people and their allies hadn’t started occupying and defending it.

Queensland Labor’s misleading narrative has been that because some Native Title claimants have signed a Cultural Heritage Management Plan, this means they support the tree clearing. That’s factually and legally inaccurate. Signing a CHMP is not the same as supporting a development.

Having spoken to a wide range of Aboriginal residents of Ipswich, including members of the Native Title claimant group, I’m yet to find a single one who actually supports these projects. Some feel defeated and powerless. Others are still proudly struggling on, outraged that the type of development proposed doesn’t even include any public housing or Aboriginal community housing.

I started supporting the Deebing Creek campaign in late 2018, when Yuggera residents of Ipswich reached out to me. At the time, Ipswich didn’t have any city councillors of its own; the entire council had been sacked (many of the Deebing development approvals occurred during the mayoralty of Paul Pisasale).

Any reasonable bystander can see that the land should be returned to its Yuggera Ugarapul owners, rather than bulldozed for profit.

I encourage Jennifer Howard to actually meet with the Aboriginal land protectors, and put their interests ahead of developers like Stockland, who’ve previously donated thousands of dollars to the Labor Party.

— Councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan, Brisbane City Council