Akiba on behalf of the Torres Strait Regional Seas Claim People v State of Queensland

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 The orders I am about to make in this proceeding (QUD 6040 of 2001) have been foreshadowed for some time. Put shortly and inexactly the proceeding itself is a native title sea claim over what for present purposes can be described as waters in and adjacent to the Torres Strait. Recently three separate native title applications have been filed. Two of these, which for convenience I will describe as the Kaurareg No 1 claim (QUD 266 of 2008) and the Kaurareg No 2 claim (QUD 267 of 2008), have common applicants and claim groups. The third of these, the Gudang claim (QUD 269 of 2008), has a different claim group. 2 The Kaurareg No 1 claim and the Gudang claim overlap in small part. More importantly for present purposes both have significant overlaps with the claim area in the principal proceedings. 3 Section 67 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) deals with overlapping native title determination applications. It provides: (1) If 2 or more proceedings before the Federal Court relate to native title determination applications that cover (in whole or in part) the same area, the Court must make such order as it considers appropriate to ensure that, to the extent that the applications cover the same area, they are dealt with in the same proceeding. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the order of the Court may provide that different parts of the area covered by an application are to be dealt with in separate proceedings.