These leases included remote areas where Aboriginal people still survived. The Keating government agreed with the National Farmers Federation to extinguish native title on these leases. But its Native Title Act left the issue in the hands of the High Court. In the Wik case the judges declared, by a margin of 4 to 3, that native title rights are subordinate to pastoral leases and cannot interfere with grazing activities, but may still co-exist with them. Certain mining and pastoral interests, and their political representatives, particularly in the National Party and the governments of Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, have demanded that the Howard government swiftly legislate to grant them exclusive possession of pastoral and mining leases.
Huge investments are at stake.
Those concerned include some of the wealthiest people and largest property holders in the land, such as the Sultan of Brunei, Kerry Packer, Janet Holmes a Court, Defence Minister Ian McLachlan and his brothers, Japanese beef companies, and large American cattle ranching companies. But other sections of the ruling class, including a number of grazier and mining company organisations, as well as manufacturing and financial chiefs and major capitalist newspapers, have urged the Howard government and the states to cut a deal, or series of deals, with Aboriginal representatives. The States and the Commonwealth should be locking in Aboriginal representatives to a negotiated settlement. The editorial warned that any legislative attempt to extinguish native title would lead to a fresh round of challenges in the High Court. Such delays are unacceptable.