Central West Goldfields People v State of Western Australia

Dorothy Dimer and seven other individuals, referred to as "the applicants", filed an application for native title in the Federal Court of Australia. The application seeks recognition of native title rights and interests over certain areas of land. One of the applicants, Ms Dimer, sought an order that she and her descendants be excluded from the native title claim group. The court was required to determine whether Ms Dimer could unilaterally exclude herself and her descendants from the claim group and whether such an exclusion would affect the interests of other members of the group.

The court found that Ms Dimer's reference to "registered claimants" likely referred to her desire to exclude herself and her descendants from the native title claim group. While the court was generally prepared to grant Ms Dimer's request, it decided against doing so because it was unclear whether this was truly her intention. The court was also concerned that the removal of Ms Dimer from the claim group could potentially affect the interests of other group members. Furthermore, there was no evidence that Ms Dimer's descendants, who were also part of the claim group, had consented to the proposed orders or authorized Ms Dimer to make such applications on their behalf.

The court concluded that there would be an order that Ms Dimer cease to be an applicant in the application, but that the motion be otherwise dismissed. The court found that Ms Dimer's name should be removed from the list of applicants, but that her request to exclude herself and her descendants from the claim group should not be granted at this stage. Additionally, the court found that the removal of Alice Wilson Donaldson's name from the application should not proceed without the consent of all affected parties or proper authorization from the applicants.

ORDERS:

1. Dorothy Dimer, one of the eight persons named in this application as being "the applicant" pursuant to s 61(2)(a) and (c) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), forthwith cease to be an applicant in this application.
2. The motion, notice of which was filed on 30 January 2003, be otherwise dismissed.