Youth training centre planned for land across from Daintree Village

At-risk Rehabilitation

Byron Filmer

Junior Reporter

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An artist's impression of the proposed new youth training village.
Plans for the site include a carpark connected to a barge to ferry people across the river.

A “training village” for at-risk youth has been proposed by the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation for a 200ha parcel of land directly across the river from Daintree Village.

But concerns have been raised by multiple residents of the tightknit Village community, with one saying the project will be “detrimental” to the region if it goes ahead.

Plans for the Daintree River Station project submitted to Douglas Shire Council show as many as 17 buildings, including 12 accommodation suites, an education centre, rooms for families to stay overnight, and a two-room “chillout refuge unit”.

One of the stated aims of the centre is to “address a range of issues, including mental health challenges, substance abuse, and behavioural concerns”.

“The proposed training village by Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation represents a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex needs of young Aboriginal people and their families,” the plans state.

“By providing vocational training, cultural programs, and therapeutic support, the village will offer participants the opportunity to rebuild their lives and contribute meaningfully to their communities.”

A carpark is planned on Upper Daintree Road on the southern side of the Daintree River, with staff, occupants and families then catching a barge to access the site on the other side.

The land will likely have to be rezoned from its “rural” status to allow the development, with people now having just 12 days to lodge an objection to the proposal.

Long-term Daintree Village residents spoken to by Newsport said they were angry that locals were given less than two weeks to object to any possible reclassification of the land.

They also said they were unhappy about possible negative implications they believed the development may have on the region. 

One resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said “this cannot happen”. 

“It will absolutely ruin our area,” they said. 

“The objective of this site will not be achieved if it is developed near our town.”

Another said: “The impacts this will have on the Daintree will be detrimental”.

“We have no resources here if something goes wrong,” another said.

“No police station, no fire station, no medical care. Everything is at least half an hour away.”

Residents have also raised concerns that the area is prone to flooding - the plans state the barge may not be operational at times due to river water surges.

The Corporation has already been awarded State Government funding to build the centre through its “Intensive on Country” program.

“Funds have been granted for the planning, purchase and installation/construction of infrastructure, which is envisaged to occur by May 31, 2025,” the application stated. 

The plan is to build the centre in four stages, with stage one including three one-bedroom accommodation units, the education centre and a meeting and training room.

The centre would be “designed to support youth within the community who may have been affected by social and economic disadvantage” and would “provide mental health services and drug and alcohol treatment programs”.

Jabalbina “seeks to provide a ‘training village’ delivering agriculturally based training and associated cultural programs”, the plans state.

The “training village” aims to “deliver agriculturally based vocational training and other cultural and therapeutic programs” to help youth “reconnect with family and culture”.

“The proposed training village by Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation represents a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex needs of young Aboriginal people and their families.

“The establishment of this village will not only support the immediate needs of the participants but also foster long-term social and economic benefits for the broader community.”

The large cleared land parcel, which has mainly been used for grazing and cropping until now, is bound by the river on three fronts.

The Corporation is a community-led organisation that works to improve the lives of Aboriginal people through cultural revitalisation, economic development, and social empowerment.

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