North east goldfields native title applicants unite 

The Federal Court today agreed to the amalgamation of the applications, which amount to 28% of all Goldfields applications.

National Native Title Tribunal Registrar Chris Doepel said the decision represented a major step forward in the reduction of overlapping and rival native title applications in the region.

"There has been concerted work by the Goldfields Land Council and individual applicants to bring about the rationalisation of applications in the region, or at least develop a more united approach," he said.

Mr Doepel said the application would now face the registration test under new Federal native title laws to determine if the Wongatha people retained the right to have a say over certain developments on the land under application.

Applicants had to meet a series of conditions including:

• ensuring that overlapping applications had no common members; and
• showing evidence of traditional association with the land.