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Sea Rights

Sea Rights Claims - Land Rights Claims - Native Title

Claims - Land Rights

River Beds and Banks Intertidal Zones Bays and Gulfs
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River Beds and Banks

It has been decided that beds and banks of rivers are claimable under the Land Rights Act, and a number of claims have been lodged.

Concern that these claims would "lock up" waterways on Aboriginal land have proven to be unfounded. The beds and banks previously claimed and granted have been on the basis that the public and pastoralists retain access.

Intertidal Zones

With very big tides in the Northern Territory, the distance between low and high water marks may be large.

Rights to the intertidal zone, the part between the low and high water mark, are currently being clarified in the courts. Traditional owners' objectives have been to improve the protection of marine resources and allow Aboriginal people to play a greater role in the management of the fishing industry on their land.

For example, the activities of crabbers operating illegally in estuaries on Aboriginal land have had devastating effects on the food stocks and environment.

Bays and Gulfs

The issue was finally resolved in May 2002 when the High Court found that land rights did not extend beyond the low-water mark.

The result was a disappointment for the Northern Land Council and traditional owners, who regard the decision as eroding saltwater people's traditional ownership rights. In the findings of his Commission into Aboriginal Land Rights, Justice Woodward found that:

Aborigines generally regard estuaries, bays, and waters immediately adjacent to the shoreline as part of their land... the definition of Aboriginal land where a coastline is involved should include both off-shore islands and waters within two kilometres of the low tide line... the legitimate interests of Aborigines will be protected if their traditional fishing rights are preserved and their right to the privacy of their land is clearly recognised by the establishment of a buffer zone of the sea which cannot legally be entered by commercial fishermen or holiday makers. An exception would have to be made in cases of an emergency.

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