State of Qld v Wik Peoples & Ors- State of Qld v Thayorre People

The High Court of Australia considered appeals by the State of Queensland against decisions of the Federal Court of Australia concerning native title claims by the Wik Peoples and the Thayorre People. The central dispute revolved around the extinguishment of native title rights and interests by the grant of pastoral leases over the claimed lands. The High Court was tasked with determining the nature and effect of pastoral leases in relation to native title.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the grant of exclusive pastoral leases extinguished native title rights and interests entirely, or whether native title could coexist with such leases. Specifically, the Court had to consider the implications of the *Mabo* decision, which recognised native title, in the context of pre-existing pastoral leases. The Court also had to determine the extent to which the rights conferred by a pastoral lease were inconsistent with the continued existence of native title.

The Court, in a joint judgment by Brennan CJ, Gaudron and McHugh JJ, held that the grant of a pastoral lease did not necessarily extinguish native title. They distinguished between exclusive and non-exclusive leases, finding that exclusive leases, which conferred a right to exclusive possession of the land, were inconsistent with native title and therefore extinguished it. However, non-exclusive leases, which did not grant exclusive possession, did not extinguish native title, although the rights of the native title holders would be subject to the rights of the pastoral lessee. The Court emphasised that the common law recognised the possibility of coexistence of native title with other interests in land, provided there was no fundamental inconsistency. The appeals were allowed in part, with the matter remitted for further consideration of the specific nature of the leases in question.