![]() ![]() This case was the first in Australia to deal explicitly with land rights and native title.īlackburn J delivered a 150-page long judgment in which he found that native title did not exist in Australian law, and even if it did, it would have been extinguished by statute, including by the Mining (Gove Peninsula Nabalco Agreement) Act 1968 (NT). Later that year, the Yolngu brought an action against Nabalco and the Government in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. In 1968, without consulting the Yolngu People, the Australian Government granted Nabalco total rights to mine Bauxite in parts of Arnhem Land. A Parliamentary standing committee was created and it tabled a report on the petitions, however the requests of the Yolngu People were ultimately ignored. Now known as the Yirrkala bark petitions, they were the first Indigenous Australian documents to be formally recognised by the Australian Government. Later that year, the Yolngu People sent a bark petition to the Australian Parliament outlining their grievances with this decision. In 1963, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced plans to build a mine in Arnhem Land and removed 140 square miles from the Reserve. ![]() Bauxite was later discovered in Arnhem Land, and the Government began to alter laws to allow parts of the area to be granted to mining companies. In 1931, the Lyons Commonwealth Government proclaimed around 90,000 square kilometres of the area as an Aboriginal Reserve. The Yolngu People lived in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory for thousands of years and continued to live in the area post-British settlement. This remained the common law position on native title for more than 20 years, until the High Court's Mabo (No 2) decision in 1992 overturned terra nullius and recognised native title in Australia. Blackburn J held that native title was not part of Australian law and even if it was, it would have been extinguished since the arrival of European settlers. Further, he said, the Yolngu had not maintained a connection to the land so native title could not be proven. Blackburn J did, however, recognise that the Yolngu had a system of law that had continued since the start of colonisation, but that this system did not provide them with property rights. The Yolngu People brought an action in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory claiming that they possessed native title rights over their traditional land. Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (1971) 17 FLR 141Ĭlick this link to search this location with google mapsīetween: Milirrpum and Others ( Appellants) and Nabalco Pty Ltd and the Commonwealth of Australia ( Respondents). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |