Wik decision

E396109

The Wik decision was a landmark 1996 High Court of Australia ruling that found native title rights could coexist with pastoral leases, significantly reshaping land rights law and Indigenous relations in Australia.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Wik decision canonical 1

Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf High Court of Australia decision
landmark court ruling
affectedGroup Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
affectedSector pastoral industry in Australia
alsoKnownAs Wik Peoples v Queensland
Wik case
country Australia
court High Court of Australia
courtComposition High Court full bench
dateDecided 1996-12-23
heldThat grant of a pastoral lease does not necessarily extinguish all native title rights
native title rights can coexist with pastoral leases
the effect of a pastoral lease on native title depends on the terms of the lease and relevant legislation
impact affected negotiations between Indigenous groups and pastoralists
influenced recognition of Indigenous rights over large areas of pastoral land in Australia
prompted amendments to the Native Title Act 1993
jurisdiction Queensland
language English
legalArea Australian constitutional law
native title law
property law
legalCitationJurisdiction Australia
legalSystem common law
locationOfCourt Canberra
mediaCoverage extensive national debate in Australia
parties Queensland Government
Wik peoples
politicalResponse led to the Howard Government’s ‘10-point plan’ on native title
precedentFor later native title cases in Australia
relatedCase Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
relatedConcept coexistence of land interests
native title
pastoral lease
relatedLegislation Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)
surface form: Native Title Act 1993
significance clarified relationship between native title and pastoral leases
had major implications for Indigenous land rights in Australia
influenced subsequent native title legislation and policy
reshaped Australian land rights law
triggered intense political and public debate about native title
subjectMatter existence and extent of native title on pastoral lease land
interaction between statutory land grants and native title
timePeriodConcerned post-colonial land tenure in Australia
yearDecided 1996

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.