Logan J
In this matter, the Court made orders by consent recognising the native title rights and interests of the Birriah people in relation to land and waters situated in north eastern Queensland around the township of Collinsville, including parts of Lake Dalrymple on the south western boundary and parts of the catchments of the Broken River and Bowen River in the south east, Mount Weight in the north and Mount Black Jack in the south.
The Birriah claims have a long history, with the first application lodged in 1998, with various amendments made up until 2016.
There were 36 respondent parties, including the State of Queensland, the Burdekin Shire, Charters Towers Regional, Isaac Regional, Mackay Regional and Whitsundays Regional Councils representing the local governments within the claim area as well as energy, mining and infrastructure companies and various pastoralists.
Rights and interests
The native title rights and interests recognised in relation to the land and waters described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the orders are:
other than in relation to Water, the right to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of the area to the exclusion of all others; and
In relation to Water, the non-exclusive rights to:
hunt, fish and gather from the Water of the area;
take and use the Natural Resources of the Water in the area; and
take and use the Water of the area,
for personal, domestic and non-commercial communal purposes.
The native title rights and interests in relation to the land and waters described in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the orders are the non-exclusive rights to:
access, be present on, move about on and travel over the area;
camp, and for that purpose build temporary shelters;
hunt, fish and gather on the land and waters of the area for personal, domestic and non-commercial communal purposes;
take, use, share and exchange Natural Resources from the land and waters of the area for personal, domestic and non-commercial communal purposes;
take and use the Water of the area for personal, domestic and non-commercial communal purposes;
conduct ceremonies on the area;
be buried and bury native title holders within the area;
maintain places of importance and areas of significance to the native title holders under their traditional laws and customs and protect those places and areas from physical harm;
teach on the area the physical and spiritual attributes of the area;
hold meetings on the area; and
light fires on the area for domestic purposes including cooking, but not for the purpose of hunting or clearing vegetation.
Schedule 5 of the orders outlines the arrangements by which the native title holders may exercise their non-exclusive rights on land subject to pastoral leases.
The native title is held in trust.
Prescribed Body Corporate
The Birriah Aboriginal Corporation ICN 8261 is to be the prescribed body corporate for the purposeof s 56 and perform the functions mentioned in s 57(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).