Papertalk on behalf of the Mullewa Wadjari People v State of Western Australia (No 2)

The case involved the Mullewa Wadjari native title applicant, represented by Papertalk, against the State of Western Australia. The dispute centered around the appropriate relief to be granted in light of a finding that the Mullewa Wadjari applicant had abused the Court's mediation processes. The Federal Court was called upon to determine the appropriate course of action, including whether a meeting of the Mullewa Wadjari claim group should be convened to decide on the honourability of in-principle agreements reached with other native title groups, and whether costs should be imposed on the Mullewa Wadjari applicant for the time and resources wasted by other parties.

The court had to decide whether it was appropriate to convene a meeting of the Mullewa Wadjari claim group to determine if they should honour the in-principle agreements reached during mediation with the Nanda and Wajarri Yamatji parties. Additionally, the court had to consider whether costs should be imposed on the Mullewa Wadjari applicant for the resources expended by the Nanda and Wajarri Yamatji parties, who had relied on the actions of the Mullewa Wadjari applicant. The court needed to balance the procedural fairness and the rights of the native title claim groups against the potential punitive effect of imposing costs.

In its decision, the court ordered that the Mullewa Wadjari applicant must convene a claim group meeting to decide whether to honour the in-principle agreements reached during mediation. The meeting was to be facilitated by an independent person and had to be attended by all members of the Mullewa Wadjari applicant. If the Mullewa Wadjari claim group decided not to honour the agreements, the Nanda and Wajarri Yamatji applicants were granted leave to seek costs for the time and resources they had expended in reliance on the Mullewa Wadjari applicant’s actions. The court also mandated that the Mullewa Wadjari applicant must notify the claim group members of the meeting, provide relevant documentation, and post the information on relevant websites and social media platforms. The Mullewa Wadjari native title claim would be dismissed if the applicant failed to comply with the court's orders.

The court made several orders to facilitate the process. Firstly, the Mullewa Wadjari applicant was required to notify the members of the native title claim group of a meeting to be held by a specified date. Secondly, the applicant had to take steps to disseminate the court's decision and orders widely. Thirdly, the claim group meeting was to be facilitated by an independent person and had to be attended by all members of the Mullewa Wadjari applicant. Fourthly, if the Mullewa Wadjari claim group resolved not to honour the mediation agreements, the Nanda and Wajarri Yamatji applicants were granted leave to seek costs. The court outlined the procedures for these applications, including the need for affidavit material and a Costs Response.