Daisy Lungunan & Others on behalf of the Nyikina & Mangala Native Title Claimant Group/Western Australia/Conquest Mining Nl

The case before the Federal Court of Australia involved Daisy Lungunan and others, representing the Nyikina and Mangala Native Title Claimant Group, contesting a proposed grant of an exploration licence by Western Australia to Conquest Mining NL. The applicants sought to object to the grant of the licence under an expedited procedure, contending that the exploration activities would directly interfere with their community and social activities and impact sites of particular significance to their native title rights. The respondents argued that the application did not qualify for the expedited procedure. The court was tasked with determining whether the proposed exploration activities constituted a future act that would interfere with the native title holders' rights and whether the expedited procedure applied.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the proposed exploration activities by Conquest Mining constituted a future act under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), and if so, whether these activities interfered directly with the carrying on of community or social activities, and interfered with sites of particular significance, thereby attracting the expedited procedure for objection. The court had to balance the applicants' rights under native title against the respondents' right to apply for exploration licences.

The court found that the proposed exploration activities did constitute a future act under the Native Title Act. However, it determined that the activities did not directly interfere with the carrying on of community or social activities or interfere with sites of particular significance, as required for the expedited procedure. Consequently, the application for objection under the expedited procedure was dismissed. The court emphasised the importance of the nature and extent of the interference on native title rights to determine the applicability of the expedited procedure.

The Federal Court ordered that the application for objection under the expedited procedure was dismissed, and no orders were made in respect of the substantive objection to the grant of the exploration licence.