Case: Bolton on behalf of the Southern Noongar Families v State of Western Australia [2004] FCA 760
Outcome: cited
On 15 June 2004, the new motion which sought to replace the 16 named applicants with four new applicants: Reg Hayden, Doug Nelson, Dorcus Pickett and Reg Young, was dismissed. The authority for that change was said to derive from resolutions passed at a meeting held in Quairading in February 2004: Bolton on behalf of the Southern Noongar Families v State of Western Australia [2004] FCA 760. There were authorisation difficulties associated with the motion and related motions which were designed to have the effect of combining all applications in the south west into one application covering the bulk of the south west area. The process by which it was sought to achieve that result was flawed and the orders sought under s 66B for replacement of applicants in the various applications could not be made. The motion was dismissed in relation to the orders sought under that section. Amendments were also sought which would have contracted the Ballardong application so that it did not overlap with the Single Noongar claim. However because of internal difficulties among the applicants and in the absence of evidence of a truly representative meeting, I was not prepared to allow those amendments. I did however make an order for the removal of two deceased applicants: William Riley and Alex Yarran. 8 On 13 July 2007 a motion was filed seeking orders in the following terms: 1. That Alan Jones, Winnie McHenry, Doug Nelson, Reg Hayden, Saul Yarran, Ricky Nelson, RR (now deceased), Tim Riley, Dianne Taylor, Reg Yarran Jnr, Murray Yarran, Fay Slater and Carol Holmes on behalf of the Ballardong people ("the Proposed Applicant") do jointly replace the current Applicant on the grounds that: (a) RY Snr is now deceased and therefore can no longer be authorised by the claim group to make the application or deal with matters arising in relation to it; (b) Cedric Anderson, Donald Collard, Sylvia Rachel Collard and RY [who died after the filing of the motion] are no longer authorised by the claim group to make the application and to deal with matters arising in relation to it; and (c) The Proposed Applicant is authorised by the claim group to make the application and to deal with matters arising in relation to it. 2. That the applicant as re-constituted by order 1 above be granted leave (to the extent that leave may be required) to amend the application by filing a Form 19 in the form of annexure "A" to the affidavit of Simon Charles Blackshield sworn 13 July 2007. 3. Such further or other orders as to the Court seems fit. 9 The proposed amendment referred to in [2] above involved the insertion, in the application, at the end of [3] under the heading "Internal boundaries" in Attachment B of the following: (j) all areas of land and water which did not fall within the external boundary of native title determination application WAD6006 of 2003 (SNC Area 1) as at 1 July 2007. The motion was supported by a number of affidavits filed with it. It is convenient to set out in summary form the substance of these affidavits. The affidavit evidence (i) Jo-Anne Jones, affirmed 6 July 2007