Land rights reach into the sea
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Natasha Robinson & Patricia Karvelas; 31/7/08
Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory have been extended to the sea for the first time in a landmark High Court ruling that gives traditional owners in northeast Arnhem Land control over fishing in tidal waters. Yesterday’s ruling by a majority of the High Court’s full bench sweeps away the common law right to fish in the Territory’s inter-tidal zone and grants traditional owners the right to exclude fishermen and others from tidal waters within Blue Mud Bay in northeast Arnhem Land. The ruling - which will apply to 80 per cent of the Territory’s inter-tidal waters - was welcomed by “overjoyed” Aboriginal leaders, who pledged to work co-operatively with fishing interests and the Territory Government to ensure recreational and commercial fishing could still take place in Aboriginal waters.
