As is well known, the Crown Land Management Act 2016
(CLM Act) made councils responsible for managing Crown land in
their LGAs as if it were community land. At the same time, however,
the Native Title Act 1993 forbids councils from doing
anything that affects native title.
Sometimes, that can place councils in delicate situations. Here
we examine two recent cases which provide valuable guidance to
council managers.
A heavy price for flouting the Act
The first is the 13 March 2019 decision of the High Court on
compensation payable to native title holders in the Northern
Territory. The case ([2019] HCA 7) involved Mr A Griffiths
(deceased) and Lorraine Jones on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and
Nungali Peoples.
