Attorney-General (Cth) v Burcher

[1986] HCA 75

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Mason, Wilson, Brennan, Deane and Dawson JJ.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR THE COMMONWEALTH v. ANDREW JOHN BURCHER AND OTHERS

2 December 1986

Decision

MASON, WILSON, BRENNAN, DEANE AND DAWSON JJ.: The sole question which has been argued on this appeal is whether the provision of s.41 of the Probation and Parole Act 1983 (N.S.W.) to the effect that, in certain circumstances, the "period of imprisonment" to be served by a person who, "after having been released under a parole order, is returned to a prison", shall be "reduced" by the "interval of time" indicated by the section is, for the purposes of s.19 of the Commonwealth Prisoners Act 1967 (Cth), a provision of a State law "relating to the reduction or remission of sentences". Having taken time for consideration and notwithstanding the lucid argument of Mrs. Flemming Q.C. who appears for the appellant Attorney-General for the Commonwealth, we have reached the conclusion that question must be answered in the affirmative. We agree with and adopt the reasons given by Hope J.A. in the New South Wales Court of Appeal for that conclusion. It is common ground that the result of that conclusion is that s.19 of the Commonwealth Act applied the provision of s.41 of the State Act to reduce the outstanding "period of imprisonment" of the first respondent to an extent that completely cancelled it.

2. The appeal will be dismissed with costs.

Orders

Appeal dismissed with costs.