Homelands

OVERVIEW

After many years, Traditional Owners are getting their land back, which creates opportunities for home ownership and land development. In the past, some families had found it difficult to get organised as a group to cover the costs of the land, and had requested assistance. Through a codesign process with Cape York family groups, Homelands was developed. Homelands currently provides structured support to families in Coen, Hope Vale and Wujal Wujal to jointly manage the ongoing costs related to, and realise their development goals for, their lands. CYP, on behalf of families, administers the Homelands bank account, which is held with a thirdparty financial institution that receives and holds funds deposited by families and makes payments on their behalf, in accordance with the Homelands Family Agreement. Homelands is tailored to meet the needs of the respective family groups and will be progressively expanded to more Cape York communities.

JOURNEY

MEMBERSHIP

HOW DOES HOMELANDS HELP FAMILIES MEET THE SHARED COST OF LAND AND HOME OWNERSHIP?

TOTAL ACCOUNTS

5 Homelands accounts had been opened by the end of December. TOTAL MEMBERS

30 Homelands members overall were contributing to their family’s Homelands account by the end of December.

SAVINGS SUPPORT PAYMENTS

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$105,614 contributed over the life of Homelands so far. $18,160 contributed across the four Cape York communities between July–December. TOTAL PAYMENTS

$80,992 in payments made over the life of Homelands so far. $13,489 in payments made across the Coen, Hope Vale and Wujal Wujal communities between July–December.

TOTAL VALUE OF CONTRIBUTIONS 2019 TO 2021

$20,000 $18,000 $16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $0 $13,585 $13,390 $11,610 $12,230 $11,649 $18,160

JAN-JUN '19 JUL-DEC '19 JAN-JUN '20 JUL-DEC '20 JAN-JUN '21 JUL-DEC '21 VALUE OF HOMELANDS PAYMENTS 2019 TO 2021

$16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $12,491

$9,900 $9,831 $9,464 $9,715

$13,489

$8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $0

JAN-JUN '19 JUL-DEC '19 JAN-JUN '20 JUL-DEC '20 JAN-JUN '21 JUL-DEC '21

BALANCE

$24,623 balance in Homelands accounts at 31 December 2021.

BALANCE OF HOMELANDS ACCOUNTS 2019 TO 2021

$30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $10,019 $13,509 $15,197 $18,054 $19,951 $24,623

$0

JAN-JUN '19 JUL-DEC '19 JAN-JUN '20 JUL-DEC '20 JAN-JUN '21 JUL-DEC '21 TOP PAYMENTS MADE THROUGH HOMELANDS BETWEEN JULY–DECEMBER 2021

1 2

Home loan payments Council rates

Homelands Opportunity Product launched in the community of Mossman Gorge with the opening of its first account in the July–December period.

Coen Hope Vale Wujal Wujal Mossman Gorge Total

1 To clarify, Homelands itself does not receive or hold deposited funds or make payments on behalf of families. The third-party financial institution receives and holds funds deposited by families and makes payments on behalf of families in accordance with the Homelands Family Agreement.

Positive Outcomes & Impacts

CONNECTION TO LAND A PRIORITY FOR FAMILY

Katrina Gibson, Roy Gibson and Roberta Henning made the decision to open up a Homelands account for their Kuku Bubu homelands. These three family members have made their Homelands a priority and are making headway to secure funds for future costs related to their land.

Signing up and contributing to the Kulki Bubu family account allows for payment of land to secure it for the future. This enables a real deep connection to the land while encouraging a handing down of cultural knowledge to the younger generations of the family. Katrina, Roy and Roberta are the first three of many family members that will benefit from this account and will be working on encouraging other members of their families to sign up and start contributing money so that Kulki Bubu is being cared for by all the family and the importance of land and family remains a priority for all.

Katrina Gibson (left), Roy Gibson and Roberta Henning signed up to Homelands in October 2021.

Alison Liddy from Coen who is a member of a Homelands account with four of her siblings likes that she can go into the O-Hub at any time and get a snapshot of how they are progressing in their account. Alison and her family are almost ready to look at the next stage to Homelands now that they are fully in control of all expenses related to their home and lands.

PASSING ON CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Traditional woomera making with Trevor Gibson.

Trevor and Dora Gibson have had their Homelands account for Loggy Crossing in Hope Vale for over four years now. Along with other members of the family who have financially contributed, they have achieved many things but using their land to pass on cultural knowledge is by far the highlight. In a series of workshops Trevor taught interested community members how to make traditional woomeras, for hunting spears and how to do rope slicing. These workshops brought together the community in preparation for the Christmas hunting. With the maintenance costs all paid for through their Homelands account, they can turn their attention to meaningful uses of their land like this.