North J
In this matter the Court considered an application by the Latji Latji people to dismiss their 19 July 2000 claim for a determination of native title over an area of land in the north-west of the State of Victoria (State).
The Court noted that the application had a long history with its resolution interrupted over many years by:
negotiations for an Indigenous Land Use Agreement, which were stalled while the State developed an alternative framework for the settlement of indigenous land claims. Ultimately the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic) was established;
a boundary dispute between the Latji Latji people and claimants in the Robinvale area (which continued from 2006 until 2012, when the Robinvale application was discontinued). During this period no settlement negotiations occurred with the State; and
in 2013, Native Title Services Victoria were engaged to represent the Latji Latji people and confirmed that the parties intended to make a new claim, a wider north-west regional claim, which would subsume the existing Latji Latji application.
The Court was satisfied that the Latji Latji people wished to replace their application with the wider north-west regional claim. The only active respondents, the State and Commonwealth, did not oppose the application.
As there were no other active participants North J agreed to strike out the claim as requested.
Orders
The application is dismissed.