Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara and Christmas Creek Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)

The Extract from the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements describes the area subject to this ILUA, per Schedule B of the Agreement, as all the land and waters within the external boundary of the part of Pastoral Lease PL N049681 (Christmas Creek) that falls within Native Title Determination Application WAD25/2012 Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara (WC2012/002), that being the part of the Christmas Creek Lease area that is west of the centreline of Christmas Creek.

Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements on 18 April 2018. This is an authorised Area Agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

The Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara and Christmas Creek Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) was agreed, under the provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), between Josephine Forrest, Benjamin Laurel, Malcolm Moora, Harry Yungabun, Peter Clancy, Bernadette Williams, Mervyn Numbagardie, Elsie Dickens, Dunba Nunju, Claude Forrest and Sammy Costain on behalf of the Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara Native Title Group and Klopper Holdings.

The agreement area covers about 359 sq km, situated approximately 75km southeast of Fitzroy Crossing.

The purpose of the ILUA is to consent to access and pastoral activities.

The Native Title Representative Body for this area is the Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC.

Background to the Agreement:

This ILUA came about as part of negotiations for the Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara Native Title Determination when the McGowan Government insisted that an ILUA between Traditional Owners and pastoralists needed to be agreed to before a determination was made. Ultimately, the determination was agreed by consent in the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) proceeding, Forrest on behalf of the Ngurrara People v State of Western Australia (FCA File No.: WAD25/2012; NNTT File No.: WCD2018/001). The State, however, changed its position "at the last minute" about the exclusivity of native title in areas within the Ngurra D part of the claim, and that area was excluded from the determination. Ngurra D, which includes this ILUA area, will have to go through another court process (Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation, 2018).

Details of the Agreement:

Commencement:

This Agreement has force as an ILUA from the date of its registration. It has force as a contract on the date that it was executed by all of the parties.

Termination:

This Agreement will end when the Pastoral Lease comes to an end, or when all of the parties agree in writing that it ends. This is except for the obligations arising under clause 17 (not available in the Extract) and the obligations accrued before termination,

Native Title Provisions:

Right to negotiate

The Extract does not contain any statements with respect to the right to negotiate provisions within Subdivision P, Division 3, Part 2 of the Native Title Act 1992 (Cth). This means that the parties agree that the right to negotiate is maintained.

Future act provisions

The Extract notes that there are no statements within the Agreement of the kind which are mentioned in ss 24EB(1) or 24EBA(1) or (4) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), and so the consequences set out under these sections are not triggered. This means that the Agreement does not: provide consent for the doing of any acts by non-native title parties; effect the right of the native title parties to negotiate with non-native title bodies proposing to undertake a future act; nor validate any previous future acts.

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