Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen

Koowarta, an Aboriginal landowner, sought to purchase land in Queensland for the purpose of establishing a cattle station. His application was refused by the Queensland government, led by Premier Bjelke-Petersen, on the basis that the land was not to be used for pastoral purposes, but rather to prevent Aboriginal settlement. Koowarta alleged that this refusal constituted racial discrimination contrary to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). The case proceeded to the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) was a valid exercise of the Commonwealth Parliament's legislative power, specifically under the external affairs power (s 51(xxix) of the Constitution), and if so, whether the actions of the Queensland government in refusing the sale of land to Koowarta constituted unlawful racial discrimination under the Act. A further issue was whether the Queensland government's actions were protected by s 109 of the Constitution, which deals with the inconsistency between Commonwealth and State laws.

The majority of the High Court held that the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) was validly enacted pursuant to the external affairs power, as it gave effect to Australia's obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. They found that the Queensland government's refusal to allow the sale of land to Koowarta was based on racial grounds and therefore constituted unlawful racial discrimination under the Act. The Court also determined that the Commonwealth Act prevailed over any inconsistent State law or action by virtue of s 109 of the Constitution.

The High Court ordered that the Queensland government's refusal to permit the sale of the land to Koowarta was invalid and of no effect.