Ngambri people say ACT government has not upheld recognition agreement

Paul Girrawah House (left, pictured with Dr Matilda House) took the ACT government to court in 2022 under the Human Rights Act. (Supplied: Dr Matilda House and Paul Girrawah House)

The Ngambri people have accused the ACT government of not following through on a promise to review its policy around Indigenous recognition protocol.

The Ngambri people, who identify as traditional custodians of lands in the Canberra region, say the review is taking too long, but the government says no time-frame was stipulated on the review.

The case was heard in the ACT Supreme Court and Justice David Mossop has retired to consider his decision.

The ACT government has been accused of failing to uphold its agreement with the Ngambri people over the recognition of traditional ownership of the Canberra area.

In 2023, the ACT government reached a settlement with the Ngambri people where it agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of its Indigenous recognition protocols.

Three years after settlement between the Ngambri people and the ACT government over traditional ownership, the matter is back before the ACT Supreme Court.

The original settlement was reached after Ngambri custodians Leah House and Paul Girrawah House brought a case under the Human Rights Act.

Following that case, the government apologised to the Ngambri people over its failure to recognise them as traditional owners, and said it would put in place an interim Indigenous protocol while it conducted a review of the policy.

Representing the House family in the current case, barrister Sarala Fitzgerald SC said the government's actions had sought to "deny the very existence" of her clients.

"For two decades the ACT government has treated Ngambri as an illegitimate splinter group that are part of the Ngunnawal," she said.

The promised review of legislation and the Indigenous recognition protocol has not happened.

The Ngambri case argues the review should have been completed within 12 to 18 months of the settlement.

Ngambri custodian Paul Girrawah House was among those who took the government to court over its Indigenous protocol, which listed only the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the land. (ABC News: Harry Frost)

But the ACT government's lawyer Stephen Lloyd said this was not set out in the agreement.

"The review was linked to a wider process of healing and reconciliation, not an individual desk-based study to be completed by public servants," Mr Lloyd told the court.

Following a terse exchange in court, Mr House agreed that a timeframe for the review had not been set out.

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