After nine long years of struggle and 20 million dollars in expenses, the Yorta Yorta people have lost their land claim suit in a 5-2 vote by Australia’s High Court. The group had hoped to establish native title over 2000 square kilometers in the fertile southeast region of the continent. However, the highest court in the country has dismissed the claim on the basis that the Yorta Yorta people had not maintained traditional links to the area. Aboriginal leaders say the ruling effectively means that ‘native title’ does not exist except as an abstract legal possibility, one which few groups can hope to realize after last week’s precedent.
