CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's attorney general warned Friday that
access to some beaches and public parks could be restricted after a court
granted a group of Aborigines special land rights to parts of a major city for
the first time.
Aboriginal leaders derided the idea, saying their rights under Australia's
native title laws were very limited and that the few claims that were successful
were more about recognition of their traditional rights than moving homeowners
out.
"No one's going to lose their backyard," said Wesley Aird, an Aboriginal
leader who's native title claim over part of the tourist draw card Gold Coast
received a boost from Tuesday's ruling.
"It's business as usual, native title isn't as scary as people may have
thought," Aird told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
A Federal Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Noongar people were the
traditional owners of a 6,000 square kilometer (2,300 square mile) area of
Western Australia state that includes the state capital, Perth, a city of 1.7
million.
Judge Murray Wilcox ruled that the Noongar had, against the odds, maintained
their culture and customs since European settlement in 1829 and had native title
over the land.
The ruling means Noongar people can now exercise rights, such as hunting and
fishing, over land where native title has not been extinguished by subsequent
owners.
The ruling came as shock to most observers since previous claims
have failed over metropolitan areas because under Australian law, freehold
and leasehold title, which covers homes and most government-held land, extinguishes whatever
native title had previously existed.
Attorney General Phillip Ruddock said the Perth ruling could bolster native
title claims under way over the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If
successful, the native title holders might be able to claim exclusive use to
land if officials hadn't dedicated it for another purpose, he said.
"Not all those steps have always been taken in relation to areas of open
space which people regard as parks" and foreshore, Ruddock told ABC radio. "It's
quite possible that there are areas in and around our capital cities where that
would have occurred."
Western Australia's government has said it will appeal the Perth ruling.
State and federal officials said they believed too much disruption had occurred
to Noongar society for it to have survived in any meaningful way, and therefore
native rights had been extinguished.
Glen Kelly, chief executive of the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
which fought the three-year court battle for the Noongar, described the ruling
as a long overdue recognition of the traditional owners' identity.
"We're after recognition and if we get any type of benefit, it's to run
businesses and train our people," said Ted Hart, another official from the
council.
Respected Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson said the decision was "absolutely
extraordinary" because it demonstrated native title was not confined to the
Outback, where most previous successful claims have occurred.
Prime Minister John Howard has said the ruling was "of some considerable
concern" and has backed the appeal.
