Balzola v Burns

[2016] NSWCATAD 246

Civil and Administrative Tribunal

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Balzola v Burns [2016] NSWCATAD 246
Hearing dates:	6 July, 14 October 2016
Date of orders:	31 October 2016
Decision date:	31 October 2016
Jurisdiction:	Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division
Before:	Marks ADCJ, Principal Member
Decision:	Application dismissed
Catchwords:	Charge of contempt - application by legal practitioner for finding of contempt against party to proceedings -principles applying to contempt in the face of the Tribunal-held contempt not established-application dismissed
Legislation Cited:	Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act, 2013, ss73, 102 District Court Act, 1973, ss199, 200, 202 Anti-Discrimination Act, 1977 (NSW)
Cases Cited:	Burns v Sunol [2015] NSWCATAD 178 Coward v Stapleton (1953) 90 CLR 573 Attorney-General v Leveller Magazine [1979] AC 440 Industrial Registrar of NSW v The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) [2003] NSW IRComm 387 Harkianakis v Skalkos (1997) 42 NSWLR22 Attorney-General v Times Newspapers [1974] AC 273 Bhagat v Global Custodians Ltd [2002] NSWCA 160 John Fairfax and Sons v The Police Tribunal (1986) 5 NSWLR 465 Scott v Scott [1913] AC 417 Fraser v The Queen [1984] 3 NSWLR 212 Re William Thomas Shipping Co Pty Ltd [1930] 2 Ch 368 The Queen v Payne [1896] 1 QB 577 Clarkson v The Mandarin Club Ltd (1998) 90 FCR 354 Wilshire-Smith v Voltino Bros Pty Ltd [1993] FCA 138 Attorney General of NSW v Dean (1990) 20 NSWLR 650 Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of NSW v Katelaris [2008] NSWSC 389
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Robert Balzola (Applicant) Garry Burns (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: J Loxton (Applicant)   Solicitors: Robert Balzola and Associates (Applicant) Garry Burns (Respondent in person)
File Number(s):	1410717,1410218,1410195

reasons for decision

Background to the proceedings

1. By application brought in this Tribunal, the applicant Robert Balzola seeks a finding pursuant to section 73 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act, 2013 (“the Act”) that the respondent, Garry Burns be found in contempt of this Tribunal.

2. The application arose out of proceedings before this Tribunal between the respondent as applicant and John Sunol as respondent, in which the applicant in these proceedings had represented Mr Sunol as his solicitor. I shall henceforth refer to those proceedings as “the vilification complaints”. The vilification complaints proceedings were comprised of three complaints initiated by Mr Burns against Mr Sunol alleging, inter alia, homosexual vilification and inappropriate conduct with children by reason of material published on a website operated by Mr Sunol. Those complaints had been referred to the Tribunal by the President of the Anti-Discrimination Board for determination as to whether the material published on the Internet website was unlawful under provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act, 1977 (NSW). Mr Sunol sought the summary dismissal of each of the complaints under section 102 of the Act on certain grounds.

3. The applications for summary dismissal came on for hearing before a Principal Member of this Tribunal, A. Britton, on 1 June 2015. The applications were dismissed by order made on 25 August 2015 and on that date the Principal…