Helicopter Tjungarrayi on behalf of the Ngurra Kayanta People v State of Western Australia (No 2)

Helicopter Tjungarrayi, on behalf of the Ngurra Kayanta People, sought to determine the extent of their native title rights over certain land in Western Australia, specifically focusing on whether certain petroleum exploration permits constituted leases or other forms of occupation that could extinguish native title rights under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The State of Western Australia intervened in the proceedings, contesting the extent of the native title rights claimed by the Ngurra Kayanta People. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with resolving these issues.

The primary legal issues in the case were whether the petroleum exploration permits constituted "leases" for the purposes of section 47B(1)(b)(i) of the Native Title Act, and whether the area in question was to be used for a particular purpose within the meaning of section 47B(1)(b)(ii). The Court had to interpret these statutory provisions to determine whether the State's petroleum exploration permits extinguished the native title rights of the Ngurra Kayanta People.

The Court found that the petroleum exploration permits did not constitute "leases" within the meaning of section 47B(1)(b)(i) of the Native Title Act, as they did not confer exclusive possession of the land. However, the Court held that the permits did constitute "occupation to the exclusion of the native title holders" under section 47B(1)(b)(ii), as they involved activities that excluded the native title holders from using the land for their traditional purposes. The Court concluded that section 47B of the Act applied, and the native title rights of the Ngurra Kayanta People were extinguished in relation to the areas affected by the petroleum exploration permits.

The Court ordered that the parties and the intervenor confer and file a minute of final determination in the proceedings, as per Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011. This would formally conclude the litigation and detail the specific areas over which native title rights had been extinguished.