|
 Top
Story
|
|
|
 |
A map of the Gulf of Carpentaria. |
Native title recognised on gulf islands
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
QUEENSLAND, December 10, 2008: Aboriginal people in the Gulf of Carpentaria have had their native title recognised over most areas on 23 islands.
Federal Court Justice Jeffrey Spender made the determination on Mornington Island on Tuesday.
He recognised exclusive and non-exclusive native title rights on the Wellesley, South Wellesley, Forsyth and Bountiful Island groups, about 400km north of Mount Isa.
The Lardil, Yangkaal, Gangalidda and Kaiadilt peoples have become native title holders of 121,775 hectares of land across the 23 islands. They have exclusive rights to all but 25 hectares of the total land mass.
The court recognised their rights to camp, hunt, conduct ceremonies and protect significant places.
The native title applicants negotiated with parties to their claim, allowing the court to make a consent determination over the land.
"More and more groups around Australia are recognising that the best native title outcomes are achieved through talking matters through and reaching agreements," National Native Title Tribunal member Robert Faulkner said.
"Hundreds of agreements and decisions have been made Australia-wide, including 71 consent determinations, most of which have been made in Queensland."
Minister for Natural Resources and Water, Craig Wallace, said the parties agreed to exclude the township of Gununa, on Mornington Island, from the claim area.
"This means the Mornington Shire Council, supported by government, can efficiently and effectively deliver and build the necessary services and infrastructure for this community in the future," Mr Wallace said.
Carpentaria Land Council Chairman Thomas Wilson said parties to the negotiations had taken a positive approach, leading to one of the fastest determinations under the Native Title Act.
"We are pleased that co-operation between the state government, the land council and traditional owners has enabled this claim to be determined through mediation rather than through a protracted and expensive court hearing and we look forward to a similar resolution of claims on the mainland," he said.
Parties to the consent determination included the Queensland government, Mornington Shire Council, Airservices Australia, Telstra Corporation, Ergon Energy, sub-lessees and permit holders.
After two years of negotiations to reach agreement about how their rights would co-exist, the applicants approached the Federal Court seeking a consent determination to ratify the agreement.
The claimed area included unallocated state land, special leases, land leases, permit land, and reserves.
In 2004, the court recognised the non-exclusive native title rights over the sea surrounding the Wellesley Islands group. - AAP
* A NOTE TO OUR ONLINE
READERS:
|
|
|
|
Breaking News