Tullock v State of Western Australia

Les Tullock and others (the Tarlpa applicants) filed an application for a Determination of Native Title under section 61 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). Reynold Allison, who is a member of the Tarlpa claim group but not an applicant to the Tarlpa application, filed a notice of motion seeking various orders, including the removal of Nimpurru/Spider from the list of apical ancestors in the Tarlpa application, and the removal of the descendants of Nimpurru/Spider and Mr Allison from the Tarlpa claim group. The Tarlpa applicants opposed the motion and argued that it constituted an unauthorised amendment to the Tarlpa application, which is not permitted under the Act. The court had to decide whether Mr Allison's motion could be granted, and if not, whether he was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis.

The court found that Mr Allison's motion, if granted, would constitute an amendment to the Tarlpa application, which is not permitted under the Act in the absence of authorisation by the native title claim group. The court also found that Mr Allison's affidavit evidence consisted mostly of hearsay, which should not be admitted into evidence. The court held that the motion was bound to fail and that Mr Allison was not entitled to costs on an indemnity basis. The court found that the Tarlpa applicants had acted reasonably in opposing the motion, and that the costs of the motion should be borne by Mr Allison.

The court dismissed Mr Allison's notice of motion and ordered that he pay the costs of the motion. The court also found that the Tarlpa applicants were entitled to costs on an indemnity basis in respect of the motion, and ordered that the State of Western Australia pay those costs.