Fitzmaurice River Region Land Claim No. 189

This Report presents the findings and recommendations of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner (Commissioner) following an inquiry into the Fitzmaurice River Region Land Claim (No. 189), a traditional Aboriginal land claim application which was made by the Northern Land Council under section 50(1)(a) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (the Land Rights Act) on 27 May 1997. The Report was provided to the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the former Administrator of the Northern Territory on 22 June 2022.

The Commissioner recommends the grant of part of the land subject to claim to the traditional Aboriginal owners in the Fitzmaurice River Region Land Claim.

During the inquiry, the Commissioner did not find that any claimant group established traditional ownership for the purposes of the Land Rights Act over a part of the land claimed in the mouth of the Fitzmaurice River.

The Report also makes findings relating to the geographical extent of land available for claim with reference to the location of the ‘mouth of the river’. These findings were also included in the Gregory National Park / Victoria River Land Claim No. 167 and Legune Area Land Claim No. 188 Report (Report No. 74). The Report was tabled on 3 July 2024 after the conclusion of judicial review proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia regarding the Aboriginal Land Commissioner’s finding about the geographical extent of land available for claim.

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