Aboriginal council lease termination forces closure of PCYC Doomadgee

A remote Aboriginal Council in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria has forced the closure of the local Police Citizens Youth Club branch after terminating the lease of the building in which the organisation was run.

Doomadgee PCYC was renting a council-owned hall in the north-west Queensland town, until it was advised by the Doomadgee Shire Aboriginal Council that its lease would be terminated, and it had to vacate the building by 30th April.

As reported by the ABC, a PCYC spokesperson advised that the lack of alterative locations has subsequently resulted in the branch closing.

The statement advised "PCYC will no longer have suitable facilities to conduct the scope of PCYC activities previously provided to the local community.”

Doomadgee Deputy Mayor Jason Ned said the hall had been reclaimed because the Council was not happy with the provision of local sport.

Ned told the ABC “the reason that the council took the hall back is because we want to get proper sports back here in Doomadgee.

"A long time ago, the old council fought to get this sports centre here for our young people in the community.

"We used to have sports every weekend, and young fellas playing football.

"Our football dropped out in Doomadgee, (and) we're hardly travelling around anymore because we lost the goodness of our field."

Ned said the decision was also influenced by PCYC's poor maintenance of the football field, advising “the sports ground doesn't look like a sports ground. It's full of bindi-eye - the real bad burrs we've got in this country.”

Ned said the standard of the grounds had become an embarrassment to the community, adding “we are traditional elders of this country and it's written up on the front that we represent the football ground.

"When our family from the community go around there, we feel a bit out of place - we got elders there and it's like we're disrespecting our old people."

Ned said the council planned on creating its own sport and recreation club to replace the PCYC.

The PCYC statement confirmed that under the lease agreement the PCYC was in charge of maintaining the multi-purpose hall, football oval and covered basketball court.

However, it advised problems that arose before the PCYC's arrival in Doomadgee had made the maintenance of the football field a problem job.

The PCYC advised “this was largely due to poor maintenance of the area for many years (prior to PCYC's establishment).

"Lack of appropriate irrigation, mowing equipment, damage caused via vandalism-associated behaviour, horses frequently roaming across the surface, and extreme weather conditions experienced in Doomadgee of extended drought and extended heavy monsoonal rains."

Despite the branch closure, the Doomadgee PCYC will continue to run the Youth Support Service Program and the Indigenous Community Sport and Recreation Program, based from Doomadgee State School.

Images: The Doomadgee PCYC building (top and below) and the Doomadgee sports field (middle). Courtesy of the Doomadgee Shire Aboriginal Council.

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