Merivale billionaire Justin Hemmes has been caught off guard by an Indigenous land claim over his Club Rose Bay venue in Sydney's eastern suburbs, which sits on a historic RSL site used by the community for more than 75 years. The venue reopened less than a year ago after a major revamp, and Hemmes said he only learned of the claim when contacted by radio producers, telling 2GB's Ben Fordham he "wasn't aware" and asking when it had been made. The claim matters because it adds a prominent, high-profile business to a growing list of eastern Sydney sites facing similar Indigenous land claims.

Club Rose Bay is one of several sites affected, alongside St Michael's Golf Club at Little Bay, Matraville RSL and the Bondi Icebergs pool and club, the latter claimed by the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council. The claims fall under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, which allows land councils to claim Crown land deemed vacant and not required for public use, 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 New South Wales, and former NSW Aboriginal Land Council chair Roy Ah-See criticised the move, saying "weaponising the legislation" does not serve communities or economic empowerment, and calling for dialogue between the councils involved.