Impact on the Rights of Indigenous People
Background Knowledge
- In 1992 the High Court ruled in the Mabo case that terra nullius should not have been applied in Australia.
- This therefore recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had rights to the land.
How did this effect the Wik people?
Native Title
Native title is a land title that recognises the unique ties some Aboriginal groups have maintained to their land and waters
- A native title claim was made by the Wik people in 1993 after the 1992 Mabo decision
- Their land overlapped the land of the Thayorre people. As well as land where two pastoral leases had been issued by the Queensland government.
About the Wik People
Facts and Issues
The Path for Other Native Title Holders
- Native title can be said to have been extinguished if the court finds that a connection has not been maintained with the Aboriginal people and their land.
- The issue surrounding this case was whether or not the Wik people still retained native title despite the pastoral lease grants
- The Wik case is an important case in recognising Aboriginal rights, and their ability to claim native title.
- However, the skepticism conjured by the media and the government meant it was actually more difficult Aboriginal people to assert Native Title claims.
- The Wik people are the first Aboriginal people the Europeans came into contact with.
- The Wik people are located on the Western Cape York Peninsula in Northern Queensland
Bibliography
High Court Decision
Court Decisions-
Federal Court
- What is the Wik Decision and why is it so important? Part 1 2016, (video recording), Youtube, 30 March, Victoria
- What is the Wik Decision and why is it so important? Part 2 2016, (video recording), Youtube, 31 March, Victoria
- ATSN 2011, http://www.atns.net.au/agreement.asp?EntityID=775 (accessed 27.08.16)
- Stevenson, B 1996, The Wik Decision and After, Queensland Parliamentary Library, Brisbane
- Racismnoway 2015, http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/19.html, (accessed 28.08.16)
- AIATSIS 2011, http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/case-summary-wik-peoples-v-queensland, (accessed 29.08.16)
- When the Wik people took their case to court, they were rejected on basis that pastoral leases the government granted on their land over the years had extinguished their native title.
- In December 1996 the high court heard an appeal of the case.
- The decision established the principle of co-existence
- The rights of pastoralist would overrule over the native title holder if any inconsistency occurred between the native title holder and the pastoralist.
Wik People v. state of queensland (1996)