Wiradjuri claim amended  

The claimant application states that no private freehold land is intended to be included. Inadvertently the parish maps and written description lodged by the applicants included private freehold land. Once the applicants were made aware of this, the application was amended.

President of the Tribunal and Federal Court Judge, Justice Robert French said today that the Wiradjuri people's application for the determination of native title on Crown land in and around Narrandera would not displace any existing and valid property rights.

"All property rights now valid cannot be displaced by a native title claim. Laws confirming public access to and enjoyment of beaches and waterways are expressly authorised by the Native Title Act," he said.

Justice French said that the High Court's decision in the Waanyi case meant that there was very little scope for the Tribunal to reject native title applications.

"The Tribunal has very limited powers to reject applications at the lodgement stage, even where past history of land tenure indicates probable extinguishment of native title.

"Acceptance by the Tribunal is acceptance for the purposes of processing mediation and, if agreement can not reached, litigation. It does not mean that native title has necessarily survived over all the parcels of land in this application, but that the claimants have the right to negotiate about their native title rights and their relationship with the rights of other land users.

"Existing rights of access provided by law cannot be displaced."

Narrandera Shire Council has already indicated their intention to be become an interested party, as have other industry, government and community groups.