Katherine Traditional Owners push for waterway claim

Beef and barra are the main opponents to Land Rights claim over the beds and banks of a major section of three Katherine region waterways.

UPDATE, THURS: BEEF and barra are the main opponents to Land Rights claim over the beds and banks of a major section of three Katherine region waterways.

On the third and final day of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner’s detriments hearing over large parts of the Fergusson River, Daly River and Hayes Creek.

If granted, the Traditional Owners will be able to control who goes on their land, with permits for work, visitor, transit, residents and recreation.

On Thursday Commissioner John Mansfield heard from witnesses representing the cattle and pastoral industry, including station owners, farmers organisations and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade.

A resident and grazier, Laura Hoare told the commission she bought her $2.2 million property specifically for its access to the Fergusson River.

“My understanding was that I owned to the river’s edge,” Ms Hoare said.

“If I own to the water’s edge on my lease, how can I be excluded from the water?”

Ms Hoare said she currently allowed her cattle to access the free flowing water, but if the claim was approved she would have to fence it off and drill bores to make sure there was sill water for her animals.

She said the bores would incur a high establishment and maintenance cost.

Ms Hoare said she was not aware of any Land Claims to the beds and banks of the river flowing near her property.

Northern Territory Farmers Association chief executive Paul Burke confirmed several reports had been made in the mid-1990s surveying the future development of the Douglas Daly region while land claims were being lodged.

“We’ve been looking at developing that region for a significant amount of time, it’s a region with significant forestry and that takes time,” Mr Burke said.

“The opportunity is now present to progress work in the Douglas Daly. But we were always of the opinion that you need to work with the Aboriginal people.”

On Wednesday, Mr Mansfield heard from the Northern Land Council and Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory.

AFANT chief executive officer David Ciaravolo raised concerns that the new title would lock off yet another popular fishing area to anglers.

Mr Ciaravolo said the pace of land access negotiations had not kept up with the rate of Land Right claims approvals, which effectively locked away prime NT fishing areas until an agreement could be reached.

NLC projects and compliance manager Sharon McAnelly said the current permit system was highly flexible to meet the needs of TOs and those applying for access.

Ms McAnelly said she could not confirm if the TOs in this specific claim would be interested in a permit system or a long-term access system.

INITIAL, WED: AMID a stoush over a major section of the Territory’s fishing areas, fishos are pushing for veto rights to Aboriginal land claims.

Traditional Owners (TOs) have made a claim to three waterway areas, making up parts of the Fergusson River, Daly River and Hayes Creek, near Katherine.

In the second day of the detriments hearing on Wednesday the Northern Land Council and Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory presented their arguments over the claim to the Aboriginal Land Commissioner.

If granted, TOs will have the ability to choose who goes on the land through work, visitor, transit, residents and critically, recreational permits.

NLC projects and compliance manager Sharon McAnelly said the current permit system was highly flexible to meet the needs of TOs and those applying for access.

However AFANT chief executive officer David Ciaravolo said Territory fishos were concerned the new title would lock off yet another popular fishing area to anglers.

Mr Ciaravolo said any access limits to Katherine fishos would “severely impact their quality of life” as it was a major recreational activity.

NLC counsel Siobhan Kelly pointed out there were green zones fishing areas just downstream from the claimed area, and there were other recreational attractions in the Katherine surrounds.

“That’s like saying someone who only likes golf that they can now play tennis,” Mr Ciaravolo said.

Mr Ciaravolo said their primary concerns followed the Blue Mud Bay agreement changes in 2021, in which fishers had to register to access fishing areas, with Traditional Owners’ approval required to enter certain waters.

He said he represented 200 members, 2500 affiliated members, and 10 affiliated organisations who had consistently raised concerns about navigating the complex mix of all access green zones, automatic permit yellow zones and permit-based brown areas which intersect Territory waterways.

He said there was a “broken system” of negotiations with TOs and stakeholders and called for land claims to only be addressed after a “resolution was fleshed out” with fishos.

Mr Ciaravolo said the pace of negotiations had not kept up with the rate of Land Right claims being approved.

He said he believed the Government should not process a land claim until recreational fishers had tried to negotiate assured access.

But Mr Ciaravolo said the decision was ultimately not up to him, but the Minister.

He said these negotiations were possible under the Land Claims system and would allow for more efficient claim approvals, as there would be less resistance in detriments hearings.

Ms Kelly speculated that this would elevate recreational fishos “to the detriment of Aboriginal claims”, something Mr Ciaravolo disagreed with.

Ms McAnelly said the permit system could “grow to the wishes of TOs” and was tailored to how the land was used.

Since she was not part of the discussions with the specific TOs, Ms McAnelly said she could not confirm if they would prefer a permit system or a long-term access system.

She said based on other land title claims in the Territory there were “concerns about people coming onto country and not respecting it.”

“(But) we know people love this area and we could love to share it,” she said.