Mansfield J
This matter concerned an application of Thomas Petherick for the dismissal of an application for the determination of native title rights and interests over the Town of Batchelor in the Northern Territory.
There had been a long-standing dispute over the indigenous persons who may properly claim to have native title rights and interests over the Town of Batchelor. Until 21 August 2014 there were two competing claims, one by Gabriel Hazelbane and others on behalf of the Warai and Kungarakany Groups and the other by Thomas Petherick and others on behalf of the Emu and Blue Tongue Lizard Clans.
On 21 August 2014 the Court ordered that the claim by Mr Petherick and others be struck out and they be removed as parties to the Hazelbane claim: Hazelbane v Northern Territory of Australia [2014] FCA 886. No appeal was lodged against those orders.
On 11 March 2015 Mr Petherick, in his asserted capacity as “Elder Custodian to Sacred Sites and Rock Art Sites, Traditional owner to land” filed an affidavit in support of an application to strike out the present applicant’s claim by Mr Hazelbane and others under s 84C(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
Justice Mansfield found that as Mr Petherick was not a party to the Hazelbane application he did not have the status to apply to strike out the application. Consequently, Mr Petherick's application to have the Hazelbane application struck out is dismissed.