What did the Wik decision say?
In Wik, a majority of the High Court held that the granting of a pastoral lease did not necessarily extinguish all native title rights, because: • the statutes creating pastoral leases in Queensland did not reveal an intention to extinguish native title; • pastoral leases did not give exclusive possession to pastoralists; • native title rights could continue at the same time that the land was subject to a pastoral lease – that is, there was no necessary inconsistency. Where there is no inconsistency between the rights and interests of native title holders and those of pastoral lease holders, the two sets of rights may co-exist. Where the rights are inconsistent, the Wik decision clearly states that native title rights are subordinate to those of the pastoral lease holder. The Wik decision has led to calls from some quarters for legislation which extinguishes native title on pastoral leases.
