Queensland Police have forcefully evicted protestors from Barrambin (Victoria Park) in Meanjin Brisbane to make way for the construction of the 2032 Olympic Stadium, which is due to begin on Monday.
Two people were arrested during the operation on Friday, which involved dozens of officers and Brisbane City Council staff.
Aunty Darryl Worthington, one of those camped at Barrambin, said there had been a clear lack of consultation from Brisbane City Council.
"I spoke to the council ... ten days ago, and said our ambassadors, the men, aren't here, could you come back Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday and speak to the boys and they'll explain it to you," she told NITV.
"I never saw council until today ... we have no magistrate paperwork, we got nothing.
"These are ratepayers, these people live here."
The state government exempted Victoria Park from heritage, environmental and planning laws in 2025, and has converted it to freehold land.
Yagara Elder Gaja Kerry Charlton has challenged the project under section 10 of the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
The act gives the federal environment minister Murray Watt the power to halt the development if he is satisfied that it is of special Indigenous significance.
But with the application still outstanding, Mr Watt currently has no power to stop the development from proceeding.
Dr Neal Peach, a sustainable development research and advocate, was responsible for a heritage application tendered to the state government last year.
He said Brisbane council's role as trustee of the land did not permit them to evict the protesters.
"BCC does not have the authority to summarily order the police to forcibly remove the occupants. It's authority must be exercised through a formal statutory process ... under section 415 of the Land Act, " he told NITV.
"To seek an eviction order, BCC must file a formal proceeding notice with the registrar stating the orders sought and the grounds for these orders.
"We have no idea that any of that work has been done. This is a preemptive strike, because on the 1st of June it will become freehold land, and they're afraid that [Olympic planning authority] won't be able to move them."
Barrambin is a place of deep cultural significance, with longstanding connections to gathering, ceremony and community.
Traditional Owners say that significance must be recognised and protected as plans move forward.
"I want them to go away. I don't want a big stadium. We've got a beautiful place here, and we put down our Aboriginal law," said Ms Worthington.
"The trees here are dying ... all the chemicals, there's not a cricket, not a grasshoppper, not a lizard here.
"They put poison on this ground for a golf course."
