The Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council building, pictured above, has been colored a yellow color by the international planning firm producing the Yarrabah planning scheme because it is proposed the Council building shall be a 'community facility' and the Queensland Government has mandated that community facilities be colored yellow.
Over the last week at least one of the local residents learning more about how the experts have been planning the future growth and development of Yarrabah, came to understanding Queensland statutory land use planning as essentially a 'coloring in exercise' wherein the Queensland State Government provides expert planners with a small palette of preferred land use colors and requires planners to color in all these blank cadastral blocks with the right colors - 'a bit like coloring by numbers'
A copy of the Queensland state governments mandatory color palette, and list of what colors must be used for what predominant, desired land uses is copied below, from the current Queensland Planning Provisions, according to which all Queensland planning schemes must be produced.
When this particular local resident came to understand that statutory land use planning may be largely an exercise in coloring in, it occurred to him that perhaps the local residents could 'color in' the future for Yarrabah themselves, and perhaps do a better job with this coloring in.
Being an artist (amongst a large range of other skills) the resident noted that a very large chunk (almost the whole) of the pending Gungganji Aboriginal freehold lands had all been colored just one color ie a single dark green color, and he asked the planners if they might be able to please give him some blank maps so that he might better color in and add far more colors recommending a better, more refined, more strategic future for Yarrabah's Aboriginal freehold lands?
Being an artist (amongst a large range of other skills) the resident noted that a very large chunk (almost the whole) of the pending Gungganji Aboriginal freehold lands had all been colored just one color ie a single dark green color, and he asked the planners if they might be able to please give him some blank maps so that he might better color in and add far more colors recommending a better, more refined, more strategic future for Yarrabah's Aboriginal freehold lands?
The internationally expert planners providing information, including some of the above information, were in the training centre, which they had colored purple, being the Queensland Planning Provision's prescribed color for 'District Centres' (see photo above)
The local artist was keen to take blank maps around Yarrabah and see if people themselves might want to color in their own land use plans. He was surprised at just how limited the available range of colors were, particularly noting there were no Aboriginal colors and no suitable colors (zones) for cultural landscapes and/or Aboriginal resource use!
It was with some great relief the Deputy Director General for the Department of Local Government, Infrastructure and Planning (DILGP) yesterday advised the Queensland Planning Provisions were indeed too prescriptive (and the range of colors - zones too limited) promising that over the next 12 months or so, it may become possible for planners and councils to select, choose, and use other newer, different, and perhaps more suitable, even more appropriately Aboriginal colors.
Some hearing this good news were also sorry that Yarrabah may miss the opportunity to do their own coloring in with their own colors (zones), knowing internationally expert planners are finishing off their planning for Yarrabah and have already colored in Yarrabah future land uses. Passionate public pleas were made to the Queensland Government representatives asking if the residents of Yarrabah might please be provided this potentially wonderful opportunity to do their own planning, chose their own colors, and do their own coloring in rather than being forced to accept the existing, inappropriate, misfitting colors (zones) being used right now!
The local artist was keen to take blank maps around Yarrabah and see if people themselves might want to color in their own land use plans. He was surprised at just how limited the available range of colors were, particularly noting there were no Aboriginal colors and no suitable colors (zones) for cultural landscapes and/or Aboriginal resource use!
It was with some great relief the Deputy Director General for the Department of Local Government, Infrastructure and Planning (DILGP) yesterday advised the Queensland Planning Provisions were indeed too prescriptive (and the range of colors - zones too limited) promising that over the next 12 months or so, it may become possible for planners and councils to select, choose, and use other newer, different, and perhaps more suitable, even more appropriately Aboriginal colors.
Some hearing this good news were also sorry that Yarrabah may miss the opportunity to do their own coloring in with their own colors (zones), knowing internationally expert planners are finishing off their planning for Yarrabah and have already colored in Yarrabah future land uses. Passionate public pleas were made to the Queensland Government representatives asking if the residents of Yarrabah might please be provided this potentially wonderful opportunity to do their own planning, chose their own colors, and do their own coloring in rather than being forced to accept the existing, inappropriate, misfitting colors (zones) being used right now!