Bonzer Words!: Arnhem Land Intertidal Zone
Paul Newbury tells of an important court decision regarding the ownership of the intertidal zone off Arnhem Land, Australia.
On 31 July 2008 in a momentous decision, the High Court of Australia recognised Arnhem Land traditional owners' exclusive rights to the intertidal zone along the Northern Territory coastline.
The areas of coastline covered in the decision are those in Aboriginal reserves. These cover eighty percent of the Northern Territory coast.
Arnhem Land was declared an Aboriginal reserve in 1931 and it covers an area of 97,000 sq km including Kakadu National Park. The coastal areas in Arnhem Land are covered by mangrove swamps and tidal rivers. Inland from the swamps are areas of tropical jungle. Aborigines of the region live near the coast where fish are abundant.
During the dry season, it is possible to drive into Arnhem Land after purchasing a pass from the Northern Land Council. Beyond driving to Oenpelli to visit the art shop, travelers must have a reason for access beyond tourism. It is private property and must be respected as such.
During WW2, 5,000 Australian soldiers were stationed there and after the war, prospectors found vast deposits of bauxite in the area. In 1973, Nabalco began processing bauxite and they established the town of Nhulunbuy on Gove Peninsula. The Yolngu people opposed the Federal Government decision to grant Nabalco a lease to mine bauxite. The Yirrkala elders sent a petition symbolically written on bark to the Commonwealth Parliament in 1963.
This led to legal action over land rights and although the case was lost, it led to the introduction of the Northern Territory Land Rights Act in 1976. Under the Act, Arnhem Land was returned to its Aboriginal owners. Nhulunbuy has a population of 3,800 of whom 275 are Indigenous.
In his judgement in July, Justice Kirby said Prime Minister Rudd's national apology to the Stolen Generations was relevant to his decision to rule in favour of Aboriginal control of intertidal zones in Arnhem Land—that is, the land between the high and low-water tidal mark which in the shallow waters off the northern coastline can be extensive.
This is the first time exclusive land rights have been extended to the intertidal zone and the traditional owners in Arnhem Land now have the right to exclude all others, including fishermen, from the intertidal region. They now have a stake in the development of a sustainable commercial fishing industry.
© Paul Newbury
Paul writes for Bonzer! magazine, Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
