Koowarta V Bjelke-Petersen - Background To The Case

Background To The Case

John Koowarta, the plaintiff, was an Aboriginal Australian man, a member of the Wik nation. The Wik peoples were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Aurukun region of the Cape York Peninsula. In 1974, Koowarta and a number of other stockmen planned to purchase the Archer River cattle station, which covered much of the Wik peoples' traditional homeland, using funds provided by the Aboriginal Land Fund Commission. They approached Remington Rand, an American businessman who owned the station by way of a pastoral lease, who agreed to sell the lease to them. In February 1976, the Commission made a contract to purchase the property, but before the sale could be completed, it was blocked by the Government of Queensland.

Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the Premier of Queensland at the time, did not approve of the sale, because he did not believe that Aboriginal people should be able to acquire large areas of land, a view which was reflected in official cabinet policy. As such, he had directed the Queensland Minister of Lands not to approve the sale. Koowarta initially made a complaint to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, on the basis that blocking the sale was discriminatory. The Commission upheld Koowarta's complaint, but the Queensland Government appealed to the Supreme Court of Queensland. The Queensland Government also brought a separate action against the Government of Australia, arguing that they had no power to pass the Racial Discrimination Act, and as such, the case was moved to the High Court.