Worimi v Minister for Lands for the State of New South Wales

The case between Worimi and the Minister for Lands for the State of New South Wales involved a dispute over the authorisation of a native title application under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The primary issue before the court was whether Worimi was appropriately authorised to bring the second application for native title, as required by section 61(1) of the Act. The court needed to determine whether Worimi was authorised under traditional law and custom by all relevant parties, and whether the claim group as described in the second application was consistent with traditional law and custom.

The court examined the evidence presented and found that there was no clear evidence of traditional law and custom that authorised Worimi to claim on behalf of his mother and sister, Debbie Dates. Moreover, Worimi’s own evidence indicated that he was authorised only to bring the application on behalf of his immediate family. Consequently, the court determined that Worimi did not meet the criteria set out in section 61(1) of the Act for bringing the second native title application. The court also found that the claim group described in the second application was inconsistent with the evidence regarding traditional law and custom.

Given these findings, the court ruled that the application was not authorised under section 61 of the Act and should be struck out under section 84C for failure to comply with the statutory requirements. Additionally, the court concluded that allowing the application to proceed would result in useless expense, and the proceedings were summarily dismissed under O 20 r 2 of the Federal Court Rules. The court's decision was based on the lack of authorisation and the inconsistency between the claim group described in the application and the evidence provided.

ORDERS:
1. The application is struck out pursuant to s 84C of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
2. The proceedings are dismissed pursuant to O 20 r 2 of the Federal Court Rules.