"Landmark High Court case paves the way for $700 million native title claim", 12 March 2025

Indigenous elders from Arnhem Land have won a historic victory in their 60-year fight for land rights, after the High Court found that Northern Territory native titleholders were entitled to fair compensation for property seizures in one of the most significant decisions since the Mabo case.

The case brought by the late Indigenous elder and land rights pioneer Yunupingu exposes the Commonwealth to multimillion-dollar compensation claims over land it acquired in the Northern Territory during the 20th century.

The High Court on Wednesday upheld a Federal Court decision from last year over the Commonwealth’s objections, allowing the Gumatj people of Arnhem Land to seek compensation for mining leases granted over the Gove Peninsula in the 1960s and setting a precedent for other Indigenous groups.

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Their claim could reach $700 million, based on the reported value of a 42-year deal between Rio Tinto and Gove traditional owners struck in 2011.

Beyond that, the case is significant because it opens the federal government – but not the states – to further compensation claims from when the Commonwealth controlled the Northern Territory from 1911 to 1978. ...

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