A Wiradjuri elder and former chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Roy Ah-See, has criticised the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council for "weaponising" land rights legislation after it lodged claims over several well-known Sydney venues, including the Bondi Icebergs pool and club. Speaking to 2GB's Ben Fordham, Ah-See said the claims did not reflect the original intent of the law and were "exploitative," calling on the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to intervene and open talks with the local body, despite having no formal authority over it.

Beyond Bondi Icebergs, claims have reportedly been lodged over Club Rose Bay, St Michael's Golf Club at Little Bay and Matraville RSL, with Fordham alleging the council has targeted most surf clubs along Sydney's eastern beaches. Under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, land councils can claim Crown land deemed "claimable" if it is legally available for sale, unused for essential public purposes and not subject to native title, though a claim does not guarantee the land will be granted. The claims form part of a backlog of roughly 44,000 outstanding Aboriginal land claims across NSW, legislation first introduced in the Northern Territory in 1976 and adopted by NSW in 1983 to compensate for historic dispossession.