Ngarla native title rights recognised
| 30/05/2007 |
Today by the De Grey River bank Justice Annabelle Bennett recognised the Ngarla people as the native title holders of about 4,655 sq km of land east of Port Hedland.
The State of Western Australia, the Commonwealth Government, the De Grey and Pardoo pastoralists, mining companies, fishermen and others all agreed to the Federal Court's determination confirming the Ngarla people's non-exclusive native title rights in the area.
This means they can access the land for camping, collection of flora, fauna, fish, water and other traditional resources (excluding minerals), the performance of rituals, ceremonies and management of their cultural heritage.
The consent determination, dubbed Ngarla (Part A), covers most of the area claimed in the Ngarla and Ngarla #2 native title applications, covering land that houses the De Grey and Pardoo pastoral stations.
The remaining area is land that overlaps with the Warrarn and Njamal people's native title applications and will be dealt with in a separate native title determination--Ngarla (Part B).
This is the first consent determination of native title for the Pilbara Native Title Service (PNTS) who represented the Ngarla people in negotiations.
National Native Title Tribunal member Dan O'Dea, who facilitated the mediation, congratulated the parties on reaching an agreement.
‘I congratulate all the parties for coming to a mutually acceptable agreement without resorting to litigation. I hope that these negotiations will set a precedent for several others that are scheduled to be concluded in the Pilbara region in the next financial year. I particularly commend the courtesy and good faith that was demonstrated in the discussions which took place between the Ngarla people and the pastoralists.’
‘This is the second consent determination in the Pilbara in recent months and it is my expectation that with the lessons learned to date, the key players can now maintain a momentum which will ensure a steady progress towards the ultimate resolution of all matters in the Pilbara in the foreseeable future.’ |
| media@nntt.gov.au |
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