Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council v Attorney General of New South Wales [2020] FCA 1113

Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council v Attorney General of New South Wales [2020] FCA 1113

WLALC proved on the balance of probabilities that the South Coast People, by their traditional laws and customs, do not have a continuing connection with the Isabel Street land. The Court accepted the substantial, consistent Aboriginal evidence adduced by WLALC that the Isabel Street land had no Koori or traditional significance, meaning no present traditional connection; that knowledgeable South Coast People had never been told of any traditional use, story or spiritual connection with the land; and that the discontinuity was explicable by displacement, suppression of culture, and urban development around the land. The evidence adduced by the South Coast People, including the registered...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 August 2020
Procedural Posture
Non Claimant Native Title Determination Application Under S 61(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (cth) / Final Determination After Hearing
Outcome
Application granted; negative determination of native title made.
Legal Topics
['non Claimant Application' 'negative Determination of Native Title' 'traditional Laws and Customs' 'connection With Land' 'burden and Standard of Proof' 'extinguishment by Public Works']
['native Title' 'aboriginal Land Rights' 'evidence'] ['non Claimant Application' 'negative Determination of Native Title' 'traditional Laws and Customs' 'connection With Land' 'burden and Standard of Proof' 'extinguishment by Public Works']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Non Claimant Native Title Determination Application Under S 61(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (cth) / Final Determination After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether WLALC proved on the balance of probabilities that native title does not exist in relation to the Isabel Street land at 28 Costin Street, Narooma, being lot 923 in deposited plan 1094431.' 'Whether the South Coast People, by their traditional laws and customs, have a continuing connection with the Isabel Street land.' "What weight should be given to evidence about the land's cultural or Koori significance, community resolutions, Aboriginal knowledge-holder evidence, and the registered South Coast People's native title claim." 'Whether sewage infrastructure on the Isabel Street land extinguished native title over part of the land as a public work.']

Ratio Decidendi

WLALC proved on the balance of probabilities that the South Coast People, by their traditional laws and customs, do not have a continuing connection with the Isabel Street land. The Court accepted the substantial, consistent Aboriginal evidence adduced by WLALC that the Isabel Street land had no Koori or traditional significance, meaning no present traditional connection; that knowledgeable South Coast People had never been told of any traditional use, story or spiritual connection with the land; and that the discontinuity was explicable by displacement, suppression of culture, and urban development around the land. The evidence adduced by the South Coast People, including the registered...

Court Disposition

Application granted; negative determination of native title made.

Orders

  • ['There is no native title in relation to the land known as 28 Costin Street, Narooma, being lot 923 in deposited plan 1094431.']