Native title agreement facilitates development in Broome

The State Government and the Yawuru people have reached an in-principle agreement to resolve native title and heritage issues in Broome, Attorney General Christian Porter announced today.

Mr Porter said the agreement came 15 years after the first of the original claims was filed with the Federal Court and would ensure the expeditious development of Western Australia's foremost tourist town.

"It is very pleasing that this long running matter can be resolved by the new Liberal-National Government," the Attorney General said.

"This Government has put much effort into resolving outstanding Native Title issues such as this because the ability to reach final decisions is for the betterment of all people of Western Australia.

"The agreement will facilitate the release of land for housing, commercial development and infrastructure, and will ensure that development in Broome can proceed unimpeded for decades to come.

"At the same time Aboriginal heritage will be protected and the traditional owners will be properly compensated for the extinguishment of their native title rights and interests in the land, as is their right under the law."

The Federal Court ruled that the Yawuru people held native title rights and interests in relation to Broome and surrounding areas in April 2006.  As native title holders, they had the right to negotiate over future developments and to receive State Government compensation for acts affecting their native title.

Mr Porter acknowledged that the negotiations had been extremely complex.

"Three years after the Federal Court decision, the Liberal-National Government has negotiated an agreement within its first seven months of Government," he said.

"We are a Government which sees great value in making decisions on a range of issues which had the potential to have become stalled.

"There is no doubt that the failure of the previous government to finalise the Native Title claims over Broome contributed to rapidly increasing housing costs and skewed development in the tourist centre of the North-West, where the population is expected to double over the next 15-20 years.

"One of the immediate consequences of this matter not being resolved by the previous government was that land shortages for development pushed median house prices in Broome up to $653,000."

In line with the State Government's commitment to addressing Aboriginal disadvantage, benefits from this agreement would flow on to all members of the Yawuru community, and would help to alleviate the many areas of social and economic disadvantage they experience. 

Other Broome residents would also benefit from the on-going availability of land for residential, commercial and industrial development.

The final agreement was expected to be reached in June 2009 and would include two Indigenous Land Use Agreements, which would be submitted to the National Native Title Tribunal for registration.