logo
Three First Nations groups granted exclusive native title over key Victorian sites after long legal fight

Three First Nations groups granted exclusive native title over key Victorian sites after long legal fight

Sky News AUa day ago
A major legal victory has been handed down in Victoria's northwest, where three Aboriginal groups have been formally recognised as holding exclusive native title rights over a vast swathe of land, including popular national parks and riverfronts.
The Federal Court confirmed on Friday that the Latji Latji, Ngintait and Nyeri Nyeri peoples, united as the First Peoples of the Millewa-Mallee, are the rightful custodians of thousands of square kilometres of territory extending from Mildura to the South Australian border.
The ruling, handed down by Justice Elizabeth Bennett, delivers the highest level of land rights available under native title law, granting traditional owners the legal authority to control who can and cannot enter or use the land.
'Despite the dispossession and other atrocities inflicted upon the Native Title Holders and their predecessors, the Native Title Holders have maintained their traditional laws and customs and have under them a deep and enduring connection,' Justice Bennett said.
'It is appropriate to make the orders sought. In doing so, the court recognises the resilience and determination of the First Peoples of the Millewa-Mallee Native Title Claim Group in reaching this milestone.'
The area under native title stretches along the Murray River and covers parts of the Calder Highway and the Murray-Sunset National Park, which is home to Victoria's iconic pink lakes.
The decision also includes areas frequented by tourists and locals alike, including Apex Park Sandbar and Kings Billabong Park.
Indigenous Leader Warren Mundine told Sky News it was a "breakthrough" moment for Indigenous Australians.
"This is the continued success and more so the breakthrough for Aboriginal people where it shows that they can actually regain some of their land," he said.
"More than 50 per cent of Australia's land is now in the hands of Aboriginal people, which gives them a great opportunity for cultural and economic success, which they can now do on their land. This will only lift their communities up and bring them into the wider Australian community.
"Now these communities need to build a future for themselves and to make those economic benefits and cultural outcomes — they need to build their communities and make them better for them."
According to First Nations Legal & Research Services (FNLRS), the case marks a turning point in Victoria's native title landscape.
'This historic outcome confirms that the State accepts the native title holders' right to control access to their country under traditional law and custom,' FNLRS said in a statement.
'Thus, challenging the long-held view that exclusive native title rights could not be recognised in Victoria.
'As with other successful native title claims, the native title holders also have non-exclusive rights including the right to access the land, use its resources, and protect sites, objects and places of cultural and spiritual significance.'
The decision not only grants exclusive rights over the land but also reaffirms non-exclusive rights such as cultural access and the protection of heritage sites.
For many, the ruling is deeply personal.
Nyeri Nyeri Elder Wendy Brabham reflected on the long road to recognition, highlighting the cultural compromises Indigenous Australians have had to make within the legal system.
'I hope our future generations of all our family groups will build on today's decision to honour our Ancestors by strengthening, preserving and sharing our Culture,' Ms Brabham said.
She added: 'We went through an onslaught of rejections . . . and we had to bend our customs, laws, protocols and traditions to Australian law.'
Legal experts say the case could open the door for other Indigenous groups across the state to pursue similar recognition, challenging long-standing legal assumptions about exclusive native title in the south-east of Australia.
Earlier this month the Victorian government released a joint statement with the state's First Nations assembly revealing its plan to draw up a Treaty with Indigenous Australians and to further make the state's Voice to Parliament a permanent institution.
The Victorian government's Yoorrook Justice truth telling inquiry handed down its final report after four years of proceedings and claimed the state had been illegally occupied.
The commission also made 100 wide-ranging recommendations to the Victorian government including providing Indigenous Australians with tax relief, financial reparations and called on the state to finalise a Treaty agreement.
The statement said the reinforced body would give 'decision-making powers to make sure First Peoples' communities can design and deliver practical solutions for their communities'.
'The proposed body will sit within our existing parliamentary and democratic structures. It will not have veto power on policy or legislation — a power that does not exist under Victoria's parliamentary system," it said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

New MP's defiance against racist ex-PM
New MP's defiance against racist ex-PM

Perth Now

time9 hours ago

  • Perth Now

New MP's defiance against racist ex-PM

Ash Ambihaipahar, the high-profile successor to Linda Burney in the Sydney seat of Barton, says her electorate's namesake and Australia's first prime minister Sir Edmund Barton would not have 'envisioned' someone with her backstory. Giving her maiden speech in parliament, while Ms Ambihaipahar didn't make specific reference to Sir Edmund's policies to restrict immigration, not recognise Indigenous Australians and the promotion of white superiority, she vowed to 'stand up against racism, division and hate'. The new MP also spoke about her Papua New Guinean and Tamil-Sri Lankan heritage while noting that Sir Edmund was the 'champion of the White Australia policy'. Ash Ambihaipahar delivered her maiden speech to parliament MP on Wednesday. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Her references to Australia's contentious founding father follows recent calls to remove his statue from an Indigenous burial site in Port Macquarie, a regional NSW town. In 2020, his great-granddaughter Anne Barton also backed the campaign, describing Sir Edmund as a 'man of his time and was deeply racist'. Addressing her parliamentary colleagues, Ms Ambihaipahar said 'as the architect of Federation' Sir Edmund would have '(recognised) the work needed to forge not just a nation but a just nation'. 'While Barton championed the White Australia policy, I live and breathe multiculturalism,' she told parliamentary colleagues on Wednesday. 'I stand here because others lifted me. That's why I will always fight for antidiscrimination, for safety, for equity and unity. 'I know what it feels like to be different, to navigate different worlds. I've also seen how political tension can quickly mutate into real-world hate if not called out early.' Ms Ambihaipahar previously campaigned for the NSW state seat of Oatley with Jodie Haydon and Anna Minns. NewsWire/ Supplied Credit: NCA NewsWire In comparison to Sir Edmund, Ms Ambihaipahar described her childhood growing up in the suburb of Hurstville. She said she was 'that dark skinned little girl running through the streets of Barton who never felt out of place'. Ms Ambihaipahar also paid tribute to former minister for Indigenous Australia, Ms Burney, who retired from politics ahead of the May 3 poll and urged fellow MPs to 'ensure' this parliament is 'defined by unity, by courage and by decency'. 'Your advocacy for First Nations peoples has shaped this country's moral conscience,' she said. 'I will walk in your footsteps with awe and admiration.' Despite previously narrowly losing out on winning the NSW state seat of Oatley, Ms Ambihaipahar, who hails from the party's Left faction, was hand-picked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to run for Barton. While the move angered Labor's Right faction, Ms Ambihaipahar retained the Labor stronghold seat and increased the margin by 4 per cent to 12 per cent.

‘Critical' children's commissioner role ‘needs to be filled with urgency'
‘Critical' children's commissioner role ‘needs to be filled with urgency'

Sydney Morning Herald

time11 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

‘Critical' children's commissioner role ‘needs to be filled with urgency'

The critical role of Commissioner for Children and Young People must be filled urgently, the Victorian government says, despite leaving the role vacant for more than three months before the state's most serious childcare safety crisis erupted. Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll also said the state's rapid review into the childcare sector would look into the government's failure to heed the former commissioner's warnings on child sexual abuse over several years. This masthead revealed on Wednesday that Victoria's former commissioner for children and young people, Liana Buchanan, had long predicted in her warnings to the government that the continued underfunding of a vital oversight scheme administered by the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) would result in the abuse of children. Substantiated allegations the man at the centre of Melbourne's childcare crisis, Joshua Brown, had acted violently toward children in his care were reported to the Reportable Conduct Scheme for review but were not escalated to a suspension of his working with children check. Brown now stands accused of abusing eight preschoolers at a Point Cook childcare centre in 2022 and 2023, with more allegations being investigated in a case that has prompted authorities to call for thousands of children to be tested for sexually transmitted infections. Responding on Wednesday morning to revelations about Buchanan's warnings, Carroll said the rapid review, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill, will 'look at everything'. 'My understanding is that they will look at everything,' Carroll said. 'Lizzie Blandthorn, the minister for children, the premier, have all said we're going to implement all the recommendations, and if it does include changes to the system around families, children, the reportable conduct scheme, for example, yes, certainly we'll accept those recommendations and make those changes.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store