Northern exposure - Aboriginal/Australia/Land
Natasha Robinson: 19/3/08
The rich, powerful and normally impenetrable Northern Land Council is awaiting the outcome of a High Court challenge into what’s considered the last frontier in native title claims. At issue is the right of non-indigenous fishermen to cast a net or a line in the intertidal waters of Blue Mud Bay, off the coast of east Arnhem Land. The Blue Mud Bay claim - which is under challenge by the Northern Territory Government - was a surprise Federal Court success for the land council. If the High Court upholds the decision, it will set a precedent for intertidal zones around Australia. In a post-land rights era, intertidal zones have been of the few places left for land councils to claim native title on behalf of traditional owners. Faced with the threat of extinction, the nation’s most influential land council has crafted a new focus, away from land claims and towards land use management and economic development.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23399001-28737,00.html