State of New South Wales & Ors v Commonwealth of Australia

The High Court of Australia considered a dispute between the State of New South Wales and other States (the applicants) and the Commonwealth of Australia (the respondent) concerning the validity of certain provisions of the *Native Title Act 1993* (Cth) and regulations made thereunder. The applicants challenged the constitutional validity of these provisions, which related to the extinguishment of native title.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the *Native Title Act 1993* (Cth), and specifically the provisions concerning the extinguishment of native title by the grant of certain interests in land, were consistent with the *Racial Discrimination Act 1975* (Cth) and, by extension, the Australian Constitution. The applicants argued that the Act, by permitting the extinguishment of native title in circumstances where other forms of title would not be extinguished, constituted unlawful racial discrimination.

The Court, by majority, held that the impugned provisions of the *Native Title Act 1993* (Cth) were constitutionally valid. The majority reasoned that the Act, while dealing with native title, did not discriminate on the ground of race in a manner prohibited by section 10 of the *Racial Discrimination Act 1975* (Cth). The Court applied principles of statutory interpretation and constitutional law, distinguishing between the conferral of rights and the extinguishment of existing rights. It was held that the Act provided a framework for the recognition and protection of native title, and that the extinguishment provisions were a necessary incident of that framework, not an act of racial discrimination.

The applications were dismissed.