Mayala
Claim status: Postponed until after appeal of Bardi Jawi claim finding that no native title exists on the islands and sea country – a finding which is strongly disputed by anthropological and traditional knowledge
Claim history:
The Mayala Native Title claim covers about 4000 square kilometres of land and sea country including islands in the Buccaneer Archipelago, located to the north east of the Dampier Peninsula. The claim application was registered with the National Native Title Tribunal in 1998 and re-registered in 2005 after some amendments were made to the claim.
The Mayala claim was postponed until after the completion of the Bardi Jawi claim, as they share many similarities.
The Mayala claim was then further delayed, as an appeal process began to overturn a finding in the Bardi Jawi claim that no native title exists on islands and sea country off the Dampier Peninsula.
In order to overturn the finding in a court of appeal, anthropological work towards establishing a connection report has begun and will continue after the outcome of the Bardi Jawi native title determination appeal has been finalised.
Claim status:
Further anthropological work is being conducted towards establishing a connection report.
Claim history:
The Mayala Native Title claim covers about 4000 square kilometres of land and sea country including islands in the Buccaneer Archipelago, located to the north east of the Dampier Peninsula. The claim application was registered with the National Native Title Tribunal in 1998 and re-registered in 2005 after some amendments were made to the claim.
The Mayala claim was met with a number of delays relating to the Bardi Jawi claim and appeals process, as the two claims share many similarities.
In December 2010, the Mayala people signed an historic Heads of Agreement with Pluton Resources that set out significant benefits for the Mayala people.
