7/27/2023 0 Comments Dpi cursor changer![]() ![]() In November 2021, a NSW parliamentary inquiry was launched to examine the reasons why legislation passed in 2009 to protect Indigenous cultural fishing had not commenced. 'Disproportionate funding'Ĭriminal defence lawyer Tony Cullinan, who represented Mr Potts, said the lack of readily available funding for defendants facing "very well-funded prosecutions" represented "a denial of access to justice". ![]() The defence costs can easily reach upwards of $50,000. It also requires evidence from community members to demonstrate that the defendant was taking resources as part of a continuing cultural tradition. In additional to the cost of legal representation, a native title defence requires genealogy research and an expert report from an anthropologist. Since the Commonwealth Native Title Act was passed 30 years ago, native title holders have been exempt from state laws which restrict their ability to exercise their traditional rights to hunt, fish and gather.īut the cost of defending these rights in NSW local courts is out of reach for many native title holders. ![]() This week, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) withdrew all charges. He entered a not guilty plea for the first time, asserting his rights as a native title holder. But after Mr Potts was charged in 2021 over joint possession of 155 abalone after a dive in Bournda National Park near Tathra with his nephew, the familiar sequence played out differently. ![]()
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