CAPE’S TITLE FIGHT

Traditional owners oppose claim and call for legislation overhaul

FURIOUS Cape York traditional land owners are calling for a total overhaul of the Native Title Act as a landmark legal fight gathers steam to oppose the granting of a Pormpuraaw Indigenous land claim.

One family group has opposed a native title determination brought by the Cape York Land Council based on fears clan members could lose the right to access certain areas within their homeland and any future financial gain from mining and grazing won’t be fairly distributed.

A part of the Cape York United 1 native title claim centred around Pormpuraaw covers an estimated 1500sq m bordered by the Edward River in the north and the Coleman River in the south.

Pormpuraaw resident with an ancestral claim to the land Joshua Foote alleged the Cape York Land Council had included groups in the claim that has no connection to the land in question.

“They are historical Indigenous people but are not necessarily from that area,” he said. “It dispossesses us of our country.”

“If we had agreed to Native Title Act under the governance of a (future) Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) you would have others sitting on the board making decisions and a PBC takes away rights to our country.”

Cape York Land Council is funded to manage a group’s native title rights, the council sets up Prescribed Body Corporates whose elected board members act for traditional owners.

“(The PBC) does all the negotiations with the mining and pastoralists by the time it gets to the traditional owners there is not much there, it’s just crumbs,” Mr Foote said.

Attached to the claim is a lengthy list of traditional landowners who have participated in the formation of a working group ahead of a native title determination to be presided over by Federal Court justice Sue Mortimer on November 23.

Myrtle, Esther and Joshua Foote have launched legal action challenging the switch to freehold land controlled by a PBC.

Cape York Land Council acting chief executive Terry Piper said the pending claim determination had been “a long time coming” and would recognise native title held by all Traditional Owners.

Cairns-based lawyer representing the family Derek Perkins said the Footes feared they would be locked out of the decision making process in regard to how the land was managed.

“They don’t want their native title rights to be held in trust by a prescribed body corporate,” he said.

“Myrtle (Michael’s 84-yearold grandmother) has land they call their homeland, they belong to that country and it belongs to them but with the determination they will lose their personal right to use that homeland because it vests in the PBC.”

Mr Foote has called for a complete review of the Native Title Act and the control of the process by the Cape York Land Council.