Traditional Owners in Sydney are celebrating a major High Court victory over a prime piece of real estate in one of the city’s most exclusive suburbs.
In 2021 the News South Wales Government agreed to hand back the disused Paddington Bowls Club to the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council.
That decision was unsuccesfully challenged by the site’s leaseholder, Quarry Street Pty Ltd., in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
However a 2023 appeal to the state's appellate court overturned the original hand back.
On behalf of the La Perouse Land Council, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council appealed to the High Court of Australia.
On Wednesday, the nation's highest court found the original hand back legal, ending years of frustration and delay over the future of the site.
The High court found that the land was not being “lawfully used“ (making La Perouse's original claim legitimate), and that the original government decision should be reinstated.
The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council Chairman Raymond Kelly, has welcomed the ruling.
“This is a win for common sense and justice for Aboriginal people," he said.
"It holds the line in NSW and sends a message right across the country.”
A big win from a small claim
The Land Council said the High Court had validated a long-standing interpretation of the state's Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983: that a lease alone, without actual physical use of the land, does not constitute lawful use.
Under the Act, Crown Land cannot be claimed if facilities upon the land are being actively used, for example a school or a park with equipment.
But if the school or park are abandoned, it’s possible a land claim could be laid, providing it meets the provisions of the act, the High Court has ruled.
The Land Council said this has allowed "many successful land claims on parcels that were leased out but left unused or vacant, such as disused depots, closed schools, or abandoned infrastructure.”
Some 30,000 land claims remain unresolved across New South Wales, and the land council hopes the high Court victory will help speed up the process.
“Today is a moment for celebration, but we must also recognise the urgent need to improve the process for returning lands," Mr Kelly said.
"Aboriginal people should not have to wait years - let alone decades - for justice.”
