ATNS - Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project

Print this page
Abraham Muriata on his own behalf and on behalf of the Girramay People, Girramay People Aboriginal Corporation, Cassowary Coast Regional Council and State of Queensland Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)
Date:	25 May 2010
Sub Category:	Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) (Native Title Act)
Place:	Cardwell
	Click this link to search this location with google maps
State/Country:	Queensland, Australia
	Click this link to search this location with google maps
	The area covered by this Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) comprises approximately 14 square kilometres of land variously distributed around Cardwell, Dallachy, Bilyana and the Murray Upper area in the state of Queensland. The agreement area is located within the jurisdiction of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
Legal Status:	Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements on 27 May 2010. This is an authorised Area Agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
Legal Reference:	National Native Title Tribunal File No. QI2009/067.
Alternative Names:	Girramay People/Cassowary Coast Regional Council and State of Queensland
Subject Matter:	Consultation \| Forestry \| Future Act \| Land Management \| Land Use \| Native Title
URL:	http://www.nntt.gov.au/Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements/Search-Registered-ILUAs/ILUA%20Register/2009/QI2009.067/ILUARegisterExport.pdf
Summary Information:
This ILUA was agreed between: - the Cassowary Regional Council; - the Girramay People Aboriginal Corporation; - Mr Abraham Muriata (on his own behalf and on behalf of the Girramay People); and - the State of Queensland. The purpose of this ILUA is to provide consent for the doing of a range of future acts, which include the surrender of native title and the 'dedication of new conservation parks, nature refuges and national park areas in which the Girramay People will have a variety of management roles' (see Ministerial Media Statement). Dedication is the process of gifting private land for use by the public. The ILUA also validates previously invalid future acts conducted within specified portions of the agreement area.
Detailed Information:
While this ILUA was registered on 25 May 2010, it only comes into effect on 27 May 2010. This is because the agreement specifies that it will commence on the latest date out of the following acts: - the consent determination in Abraham Muriata on behalf of the Girramay People v State of Queensland & Ors (provided on 10 December 2009); or - the determination of the relevant prescribed body corporate to hold the native title rights of the Girramay People on trust (which appears to have been made prior to the consent determination in Abraham Muriata on behalf of the Girramay People v State of Queensland & Ors); or - the registration of this ILUA (on 25 May 2010); or - the registration of the other three ILUAs entered into by the Girramay People (of which two were registered on 27 May 2010). This ILUA provides consent for a number of 'Agreed Acts', which can be summarised as follows: Surrender of native title in the 'Surrender Area' The parties agree to the surrender (and subsequent extinguishment) of natitle title rights and interests within an area defined as the 'surrender area'. The surrender area is described in Schedule 3 and encompasses portions of those parts of the agreement area that are located in the Bilyana and Cardwell vicinities. *Grants under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991* (Qld)** Certain parts of the ILUA area, which have been defined as the 'Initial Aboriginal Land Act Freehold Area' and the 'Remaining Aboriginal Land Act Freehold Area', are to be declared as 'transferable land' under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (Qld). They are then to be granted to the Land Trust to be held for the benefit of the Girramay People. The exact location of the 'Initial Aboriginal Land Act Freehold Area' and the 'Remaining Aboriginal Land Act Freehold Area' is unclear. There are two corollary agreements which the parties have agreed to enter into: a 'conservation agreement' and an 'agreement for easement'. Details of these agreements are not provided on the National Native Title Tribunal Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements, although it appears that the conservation agreement relates specifically to those portions of the agreement area that are to be transferred under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (Qld). Dedication of conservation parks, nature refuges and national parks This ILUA provides for the 'dedication, use and management' of certain portions of the agreement area defined variously as the 'Conservation Park Area', the 'Nature Refuge Area' and the 'National Park Area'. While this is not specified in the National Native Title Tribunal Register Extract, a press release indicates that the management of these areas will be undertaken in part by the Girramay People. Dedication of Reserve Areas Various 'Reserve Areas' are to be dedicated, used and managed for 'Aboriginal and environmental purposes'. Other areas within the ILUA area A prescribed portion of the agreement area is to be declared as State Forest. Also, certain areas are to be dedicated for use as public roads. General provisions The parties agree to various acts including the grant of tenure (under prescribed conditions), the grant of a permit to occupy and acts in relation to flood mitigation and a water supply reserve. The parties also agree that the right to negotiate provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) do not apply to any of the future acts to which consent has been given under this ILUA. Native title in the ILUA area The ILUA area is located within the Determination Area of native title made in the proceeding Abraham Muriata on behalf of the Girramay People v State of Queensland & Ors (unreported, FCA, 10 December 2009, Dowsett J) by the Federal Court of Australia. The ILUA was developed to accompany this consent determination, where it was found that the Girramay People held non-exclusive native title rights and interests over 16 parcels of unallocated state land that stretched from Cardwell to Bilyana and the Murray Upper region. Under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), any activity that may affect native title rights is defined as a 'future act' and must comply with the future act provisions of the Act in order to be valid. This ILUA entitles the parties to circumvent these provisions.