Birpai Culture & Country

Birpai Traditional Owners & Cultural Authority

Listening to and respecting Birpai voices

Protect Oxley Beach recognises that decisions affecting Country should be informed by the people who have cared for it for thousands of years. Throughout this campaign, we have worked closely with Birpai Traditional Owners, Elders and community members to ensure their voices, concerns and cultural knowledge are heard and valued throughout the planning process.

While Protect Oxley Beach does not speak on behalf of Birpai people, we are committed to ensuring that their perspectives are respectfully represented, and that decision-makers understand the importance of genuine Aboriginal engagement. We believe Traditional Owners should be active participants in decisions affecting culturally significant places, and that cultural knowledge should be given meaningful weight alongside environmental, planning and engineering considerations.

An enduring connection to Country

Oxley Beach forms part of the traditional Country of the Birpai People, whose connection to this coastline extends back more than 40,000 years. For countless generations, this stretch of coast has provided places for gathering, food collection, cultural practice, teaching and caring for Country.

Today, Oxley Beach remains part of a living cultural landscape. It is not simply a place of historical significance, but one where cultural responsibilities, family connections and obligations to care for Country continue to be exercised and passed from one generation to the next.

The site selection was based on claimed Traditional Owner support

One of the principal reasons advanced for selecting Oxley Beach as the preferred location for the proposed Ocean Pool was that it was presented as the only site approved by the Birpai Traditional Owners and the Local Aboriginal Land Council.

The Ocean Pool Committee identified this as a key factor supporting its decision to prefer Oxley Beach over alternative locations, together with claims of minimal heritage impacts and overall site suitability.

However, the consultation that informed this position was undertaken with a limited number of representatives, including one Traditional Owner group and the Birpai Local Aboriginal Land Council. While these organisations play important and legitimate roles, they do not represent all Birpai Traditional Owners, Elders, families or cultural knowledge holders.

Many Traditional Owners have since stated that they were not consulted during the site selection process and that the consultation undertaken did not reflect the diversity of cultural views within the Birpai community.

Traditional Owner positions have been made clear

Since the original site selection process, the circumstances have changed significantly.

The Birpai Local Aboriginal Land Council has formally withdrawn its earlier provisional support, and Birpai Traditional Owners have actively expressed opposition to the proposal through petitions presented to both Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and the New South Wales Government.

Many Traditional Owners have also publicly raised concerns about the proposal's potential impacts on Country, cultural heritage and the decision-making process.

These developments demonstrate that there is no longer broad or uncontested Traditional Owner support for the project. Instead, there is clear evidence that many Birpai people oppose the proposal and are seeking greater recognition of their cultural concerns within the planning process.

Aboriginal rights and interests remain unresolved

There are also important legal processes relating to Aboriginal rights and interests that remain unresolved.

A Federal Court non-claimant Native Title application affecting the proposal area remains before the Court and has not yet been determined. Until that process is complete, Native Title issues relating to the site remain unresolved.

In addition, an Aboriginal Land Claim over part of the proposal area is also yet to be determined.

These processes are independent of the planning proposal and concern important Aboriginal rights and interests. Their outcome has the potential to influence future management of the land and should be resolved before permanent development is considered.

Cultural authority requires ongoing engagement

Meaningful consultation with Traditional Owners is not a single event undertaken at the beginning of a project. It is an ongoing process built on respect, listening and recognising that cultural authority is shared across families, Elders and knowledge holders.

Where projects affect culturally significant places, engagement should continue throughout planning and decision-making, ensuring that evolving cultural knowledge and community perspectives are genuinely considered.

Protect Oxley Beach believes decisions affecting Country should be informed by broad and respectful engagement, recognising the diversity of voices within the Birpai community rather than relying on consultation undertaken during the early stages of the project.

A message from Birpai Elder Dr Aunty Rhonda Radley

Protect Oxley Beach has been given permission to share the following statement from Birpai Elder Dr Aunty Rhonda Radley:

"Sacred places are stories, connections and obligations to care for Country. This place now known as Oxley Beach has sacredness, significance and history for the Birpai people and locals of this area. This beautiful natural landscape and stories belong to our children's children, future generations. Say no to the Oxley Beach proposal."

This statement reflects the continuing cultural relationship many Birpai people have with Oxley Beach and the importance of protecting Country for future generations.

Our position

Protect Oxley Beach believes that planning decisions affecting culturally significant places should proceed only after there has been genuine, respectful and ongoing engagement with Traditional Owners, and after Aboriginal land rights and Native Title processes have been resolved.

Respecting Country means recognising that Birpai cultural authority is living, diverse and enduring. We believe the voices of Traditional Owners should remain central to any decision about the future of Oxley Beach, ensuring that its cultural significance is protected for today's community and for generations to come.