EVENT INFORMATION

23
December
1996

The Wik judgment recognizes possible coexistence of land rights

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📅 23 December 1996 📍 Australia

The High Court ruled that the pastoral leases at issue did not necessarily extinguish native title. Indigenous and pastoral rights could coexist, with lease rights prevailing where inconsistent. The decision challenged the assumption that a colonial land grant automatically erased all pre-existing Indigenous relationships with the land.

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Organizations in this Event

Wik peoples

Thayorre people

High Court of Australia