Section 71 of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), which confers rights of entry, occupation and use of Aboriginal land, has no application to chattels placed on that land. A shipping container placed temporarily on a mineral lease for storage purposes, intended to be removed when work is completed, remains a chattel and does not become part of the realty. The interaction between s 11(1) of the Trespass Act (regulatory offence) and Part II of the Criminal Code (including the honest claim of right defence in s 30(2)) remains unresolved, though the Court considered the legislature probably intended s 30(2) to apply.
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