Attorney-General (NT) v Kearney

The Attorney-General of the Northern Territory sought declarations and injunctions against Mr. Kearney, a private individual, concerning his actions in establishing and operating a private radio station broadcasting from his property in the Northern Territory. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Kearney's activities constituted an unlawful interference with Commonwealth property and whether they infringed upon the exclusive rights of the Commonwealth to operate radio broadcasting services. The matter was heard by the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether Mr. Kearney's operation of a private radio station, which transmitted signals that interfered with existing Commonwealth-controlled radio frequencies, constituted an unlawful interference with Commonwealth property. A further issue was whether the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942 (Cth) conferred an exclusive right upon the Commonwealth to operate radio broadcasting services, and if so, whether Mr. Kearney's actions infringed this exclusive right.

The Court reasoned that the radio frequencies themselves were not property in the traditional sense, but rather a resource that the Commonwealth had the right to regulate and control for the public good. While Mr. Kearney's broadcasts did not physically damage Commonwealth property, they did interfere with the use and enjoyment of the radio spectrum, which was a valuable public resource managed by the Commonwealth. The Court held that the Broadcasting and Television Act did not grant an exclusive right to the Commonwealth to operate broadcasting services, but rather regulated the use of the spectrum. However, the Court found that Mr. Kearney's actions, by causing interference, were an unlawful interference with the Commonwealth's right to control and manage the radio spectrum.

The High Court made declarations that Mr. Kearney's broadcasts constituted an unlawful interference with the Commonwealth's right to control and manage the radio spectrum and granted an injunction restraining him from continuing the broadcasts.