E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 30 State or territory Northern Territory Legislative action Validation of Titles and Actions Amendment Act 1998 Lands and Mining (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1998 Status of legislation Assented to on 28 August 1998 and commenced on 1 October 1998 Statute Law Revision Act 1999 Queensland Native Title (Queensland) State Provisions Act 1998 Assented to on 3 September 1998 Tasmania No proposed legislation to date N/A 63. Since August 1999, Western Australia has passed legislation confirming extinguishment on further titles. Extinguishment now includes all scheduled and other interests authorized by the amended Commonwealth NTA, with the exception of leases not still in force on 23 December 1996. These are known as historic leases. The Western Australian amendments confirm extinguishment of native title on a further 1,300 grants. 64. In the Miriuwung Gajerrong case.6 In this case, Justice Lee, member of the High Court, found that, at common law, native title has survived on a number of leases, some of which had been included in the Commonwealth NTA schedule as extinguished titles. On 3 March 2000 the full bench of the Federal Court handed down its decision in the appeal of the Miriuwung Gajerrong case.7 By a majority of two to one the appeal court overturned many of Justice Lee’s findings regarding extinguishment of native title. The full court found that some titles scheduled to the Native Title Act do in fact extinguish native title, namely, conditional purchase leases and some special purpose leases under section 152 of the Land Act 1993 (WA). The court, however, also upheld Justice Lee’s findings that other special purpose leases, including, for example, leases for canning and preserving, did not extinguish native title. With the exception of historic leases, these leases are now deemed, by the recent Western Australian legislation, to have extinguished native title. Native title holders are left with only a right to pursue compensation for this extinguishment. 65. The Western Australian legislation also expands the extinguishment of native title on land affected by public works. At common law and prior to the amendments, public works extinguished native title from the time of the commencement of construction or establishment of the public work, and extended only to the “footprint” of the work. The amendments provide for extinguishment from the time of the grant and expand the area of extinguishment to include the adjacent land and waters.8