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[2019] FCA 2211
Federal Court of Australia
2019-12-16
Mr J, Ms J, Reeves J
Original judgment source is linked above.
REEVES J: 1 This is an application for joinder as a respondent in this proceeding made by a person describing himself as Crown. The application also seeks a number of other orders, but they are consequential upon the joinder application being allowed. It should be noted at the outset that Crown has informed me that he wishes to advance a similar position to that of Ms King, whose application for joinder in this proceeding was dismissed on the first day of the trial which commenced on 2 December 2019 in Clermont. 2 Section 84(5) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) permits an application of this kind. It provides: The Federal Court may at any time join any person as a party to the proceedings, if the Court is satisfied that the person's interests may be affected by a determination in the proceedings and it is in the interests of justice to do so. 3 I recently outlined the principles pertinent to a joinder application of this kind in Foster on behalf of the Gunggari People #4 v State of Queensland [2019] FCA 1300 at [9]-[12]. 4 Crown submits that his interest for the purposes of s 84(5) is defined at [4]-[6] of the affidavit he made on 9 December 2019. Having read those paragraphs, I agree with the substantive applicant's submission that they do not establish that Crown has a prima facie interest in the area the subject of the present native title determination application. Instead, those paragraphs contain a series of assertions without disclosing any factual foundation. 5 Even if Crown had established a prima facie interest in the claim area, for the following reasons, I would not have exercised my discretion to allow his joinder as a respondent party at this stage of this proceeding. First, Crown's application is extremely late. This proceeding is 15 years old. It was set down for trial in May 2019. That trial commenced on 2 December 2019 in Clermont and has been continuing since then. It is now in its 11th day. Crown's application was filed on 12 December 2019. In oral submissions before me he said that his delay was caused by "protocols" which only allowed him to act in "the last couple of years". In the circumstances of this matter, I do not consider that that is a satisfactory explanation for Crown's delay. 6 Secondly, if this application were to be granted, Crown has also informed me that he wishes to have this trial brought to an end and to apply for an order to strike out the native title determination application to which it relates. As I mentioned before, the trial of this matter is now in its 11th day and I do not consider it would be an efficient use of the resources of the parties, which include a significant contribution from the public purse, to allow Crown to pursue that course at this stage of this proceeding. Thirdly, as with Ms King's dismissed application which I mentioned at the outset, this application essentially seeks to pursue a positive determination of native title. So much is apparent from [16] of Crown's affidavit. It is well-established that that is not a valid basis upon which a person may be joined as a respondent party in proceedings of this kind (see Alvoen on behalf of the Wakaman People #3 v State of Queensland [2019] FCA 1469 at [28]). 7 For these reasons, Crown's application filed 12 December 2019 is dismissed. I certify that the preceding seven (7) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment herein of the Honourable Justice Reeves.
SCHEDULE OF PARTIES QUD 25 of 2019 Respondents Fourth Respondent: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS REGIONAL COUNCIL Fifth Respondent: ISAAC REGIONAL COUNCIL Sixth Respondent: ERGON ENERGY CORPORATION LIMITED Seventh Respondent: TELSTRA Eighth Respondent: AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG PTY LIMITED Ninth Respondent: BLAIR ATHOL COAL PTY LIMITED Tenth Respondent: CLYDE IAN DOXFORD Eleventh Respondent: HANCOCK COAL PTY LTD Twelfth Respondent: HANCOCK GALILEE PTY LTD Thirteenth Respondent: HANCOCK KEVINS CORNER PTY LTD Fourteenth Respondent: QUEENSLAND COAL PTY LIMITED Fifteenth Respondent: PETER VINCENT SHEVILL Sixteenth Respondent: VALE COAL EXPLORATION PTY LTD Seventeenth Respondent: BELLEVUE PASTORAL PTY LTD Eighteenth Respondent: EVAN BENNEY Nineteenth Respondent: CHUDLEIGH PARK CATTLE CO PTY LTD Twentieth Respondent: BRUCE RAYMOND COBB Twenty-First Respondent: SAMANTHA ELIZABETH COBB Twenty-Second Respondent: CREEK FARM PTY LTD Twenty-Third Respondent: ALLISON GLENDA FINGER Twenty-Fourth Respondent: STEVEN WILLIAM FINGER Twenty-Fifth Respondent: TREVOR DAVID GOODWIN Twenty-Sixth Respondent: JOHNSTON MANAGEMENT (QLD) PTY LTD T/AS BECO PASTORAL TRUST Twenty-Seventh Respondent: LOGAN CREEK PTY LTD Twenty-Eighth Respondent: MEXICO GAZING CO PTY LTD Twenty-Ninth Respondent: RAYE MARILYN O'SULLIVAN Thirtieth Respondent: ROBERT ALAN O'SULLIVAN Thirty-First Respondent: PRETTY PLAINS PTY LTD Thirty-Second Respondent: JOANNE MARY SALMOND Thirty-Third Respondent: JOSEPHINE BARBARA SALMOND Thirty-Fourth Respondent: GEOFFREY THOMAS SCHARF Thirty-Fifth Respondent: PATRICK JOHN SCHARF Thirty-Sixth Respondent: TERESA MONICA SCHARF Thirty-Seventh Respondent: DAVID ALBERT SCOTT Thirty-Eighth Respondent: SEDGEFORD PASTORAL COMPANY PTY LTD Thirty-Ninth Respondent: AINSLIE BRUCE MCKENZIE TEMPLETON Fortieth Respondent: DELIA KEMPPI Forty-First Respondent: LESTER BARNARD Forty-Second Respondent: LINDA BOBONGIE
Malone
State of Queensland