Lismore council returning land to traditional owners despite opposition

Michael Paul-Ryan, known as Uncle Mickey, a Wiyabul man and chairman of the Bundjalung Elders Council, stands on Sleeping Lizard Hill, also called North Lismore Plateau. Photograph: David Maurice Smith/Oculi

It was a historic land handback decision that established Lismore city council as a regional leader in reconciliation with First Nations people.

But after a contentious motion by a newly elected councillor to halt the handback of 37 hectares at the southern end of Sleeping Lizard Hill, or North Lismore Plateau, what was seen as a significant step in the healing journey for Aboriginal Australians seems a little less sure-footed.