I
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF
AUST-IA
) )
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY ) NSW NO.9A Of 1982 1
DIVISION INDUSTRIAL 1 IN THE MATTER OF the Conclliatlon and Arbltration Act 1904
Appllcatlon by Damlen Stapleton for an inqulry lnto an electlon in the Australlan Theatrical and Amusement Employees Assoclatlon
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17 March 1982 EVATT J.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Presently before the Court is the adlourned hearing
of a notlce of motlon seeklng lnterlm orders pursuant to
s.163 of the Conciliation and Arbitratlon Act 1904 (the Act)in an Inquiry Into an election whlch has recently been conducted
pursuant to s.170 of the Act in the New South Wales branch of the Australlan Theatrlcal and Amusement Employees Bssociatlon assistant secretary, vice-presldent and 12 executive members of the Branch.
(the organlzation) by Mr Cain, an offlcer of the Australlan
that letter. . ./2.. In a letter dated 24 February 1982 addressed to the
secretary of the New South Wales Branch of the organlzatlon the returning offlcer lnformed the secretary that the electlon
had been duly conducted and that the results together wlth
hls declaratlon of the poll wereset out In an attachment to
By application dated 5 March 1982 one Damien Stapleton,
the former secretary of the New South Wales Branch of the
organization, and the unsuccessful candldate of the two candidates for that office, lodged with the Industrlal Reglstrar in Melbourne an applicatlon under s.159 of the Act
for an lnquiry In respect of the said electlon alleginq that
certain irregularltles had occurred therein. Such applicatlon
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was made ln respect of all offices contested In that election.
> Pursuant to s.159(4) the Industrlal Reglstrar referred the
inqulry to the Federal Court of Australia on 9 March 1982. On 10 March 1982 Mr Stapleton flled the sald notice
of motlon seeking four speclfic orders whlch do not requlre to be set out at thls stage. Flled in support of the motlon
were two affldavlts of Mr Stapleton sworn on 10 March 1982.
The motlon was made returnable at 3 p.m. on 11 March before Morllng J. In prlvate chambers when the appllcatlon was heard ex parte.
On 11 March 1982 Morllng J. made the followlng orders:
1. Damlen Stapleton may continue to act I n the offlce of secretaryltreasurer of the New South Wales
Branch of the Australlan Theatrical and Amusement Employees Assoclatlon. 2. Those persons who currently hold offlce In
the said branch of the sald assoclatlon may
contlnue to act in those offlces.
3 . The matter 1s adlourned for further hearlng on 16 March 1982 at 11 o'clock.
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The notes of Mr Hasson, a Deputy Reglstrar of the
Federal Court who attended In chambers before Morling S. when hls Honour heard the applicatlon for the interim orders,
show that the three orders set out above were prefaced by a sentence readlng: "Untll 4.15, 16 March 1982 or untll further
order of the Court the Court orders that:-". Mr Haylen of counsel who appeared before the Court today and who attended
before Morling J. agreed that the orders made by his Honour
were to extend until 4.15 p.m. on 16 March 1982 or further order.
When the matter was called on before the Court on
16 March 1982 Mr Haylen appeared for Mr Stapleton and for
the organization whilst Mr Kenzle of counsel appeared for certaln of the successful candldates. The matter became part- heard on 16 March 1982 when the Court ad~ourned the matter untll
today, 17 March 1982 and extended the orders made by Morllng J. so that they contlnued untll further order of the Court.
On 17 March 1982 Mr Smithofthe Deputy Crown Solicitor's
offlce, Sydney appeared on behalf of the returning offlcer,
Mr C a m , and has been present In Court durlng the hearlng of the motlon today. Having heard oral evidence together with that whlch
1s set out In the two affldavlts of Mr Stapleton which were before Morllng J. on 11 March last, I am satlsfled that, in
the exercise of my dlscretlon, and followlng the well-established prlnclples relating to the granting of lnterim orders referred
.
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to in cases such as Parish's case((1977)16 A.L.R. 181), the interlm orders granted by Morllnq contmued and such orders are accordingly vacated.
- AGLC
- Application by Damien Stapleton for an inquiry into an election in the Australian Theatrical Amusement Employees Assocciation [1982] FCA 40
- Case
- [1982] FCA 40
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issue before the Court was whether interim orders should be granted to allow Stapleton to continue acting in his former office pending the outcome of the inquiry into the election. This involved assessing the balance of convenience in light of the allegations of electoral irregularities and the potential impact on the Association if the interim orders were not granted.
Evatt J considered the principles guiding the granting of interim orders, particularly the need to balance the rights and interests of the parties involved. The Court determined that the interim orders previously granted by Morling J. should be vacated, as they were no longer in the best interest of the Association and its members. The Court concluded that the balance of convenience did not favour maintaining the interim orders, and thus, they were set aside.
Consequently, the final orders of the Court were to vacate the interim orders that had been previously granted, thereby allowing the Association to proceed with its affairs without the continued presence of Stapleton as secretary/treasurer.
Orders
Orders of the court
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Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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