What was the Wik decision 1996?
In 1996 the High Court found that native title could only be extinguished by a law or an act of the Government which shows clear and plain intention to extinguish native title and thus pastoral leases granted in Queensland did not extinguish title.
What caused the Wik decision?
The Wik decision arose out of two native title claims in Queensland, by the Wik peoples and the Thayorre people. The claims were over large areas which included a number of pastoral leases, and two special mining leases granted under ratified State Government agreements.
What was the amendment to the native title Act due to the Wik case?
John Howard created a 10-point plan which watered down some of the provisions of the NTA and which were passed as major amendments to the Act in 1998….
| Native Title Act 1993 | |
|---|---|
| show Long title | |
| Citation | Act No. 110 of 1993 |
| Royal assent | 24 December 1993 |
| Status: Amended |
How much of Australia is under native title?
32%
Native title claimants can make an application to the Federal Court of Australia to have their native title recognised by Australian law. At 30 September 2015, native title has been recognised over approximately 2,469,647 km2 or about 32% of the Australian land mass.
What was the main decision in the Wik case?
Released March 1997. The High Court’s confirmation in the Wik Decision that a ‘pastoral lease’ will prevail over native title wherever inconsistency arises was proclaimed as a ‘win – win’ result for landholders and Aboriginal People alike.
Where are the Wik people located?
western Cape York Peninsula
The various Aboriginal groups now referred to as the `Wik’ peoples occupy an extensive zone on western Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland between roughly 11° 40′ and 14° 50′ south latitude–the coastal flood plains bounding the Gulf of Carpentaria lying between Pormpuraaw (Edward River) and Weipa, and inland …
How long did the Wik decision take?
The court reserved its decision until 23 December 1996. The Court decided in favour of the Wik people by a four/three majority. Each of the majority judges wrote separate judgments in support of their decision.
Do Aboriginals have native title?
Native title is the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have rights and interests to land and waters according to their traditional law and customs as set out in Australian Law. Native Title is governed by the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
Why did the British believe they could take Aboriginal land?
Why did the British believe they could take Aboriginal land? Aboriginal people didn’t use the land the same way as the British people, so the British thought they could just take it themselves. Mabo-Decision was made that the Aboriginal people had owned the land before the British came.
Was the Wik decision good or bad?
1996: Wik High Court decision The High Court’s Wik decision in December 1996 established that native title and other interests in land (such as pastoral leases) can co-exist. The finding led to a very significant increase in the area where native title could be claimed.
What was the court’s decision in the Wik case?
“It should be pointed out that if such negotiated outcomes are possible, then that itself is an indication of the possibility of co-existence which underlies the Court’s decision in the Queensland cases that the pastoral leases did not necessarily extinguish native title.
When was the decision made in Wik Peoples v Queensland?
Drummond heard the claim between 17 and 26 October and 14 and 15 December 1994. He delivered his decision 29 January 1996 in Brisbane. On 29 January 1996 Drummond gave judgment on the five preliminary questions that had been identified.
Why was the Wik decision-NNTT decision so important?
The leases were granted under particular statutes and upon a reading of the terms of those statutes and the nature of the rights conferred by them, the majority concluded that lessees did not have the right to exclusive possession in such a way as to make native title holders trespassers on their own land.
What was the Wik and Mabo decision about?
Furthermore, what is the Wik and Mabo decision? Through the Mabo decision , the High Court overturned the idea of Terra Nullius and disputed that Australia belonged to no one before colonisation. The 1996 Wik decision determined that Native Title could, in some circumstances coexist with some types of leasehold (such as pastoral).