While Sharpe J.A. noted that where the circumstances of paternity arise after 1985, it still may be reasonable to
hold people to a relatively strict burden of proving paternity, this case should encourage the Indian Registrar to, at a minimum, adopt a more
flexible policy about the kinds of evidence that may establish paternity in historical cases.
Government
policies need to be
flexible to accommodate different types of land ownership (for instance, communally -
held native title land or freehold land granted under a land rights regime) and to support the distinct development aspirations of specific communities.