Boland, Michael Gerard & Anor v Federated Liquor & Allied Industries Employees Union of Australia Boland, Michael Gerard & Anor v Munro, J & ors

, , .-;

f *

-1117

I N THE FEDERhL COL'RT OF AUSTRALJA

W L ( i )

)

INDUSTRIAL	.-	D I V I S I C N	)	N.S.W.	NO.	2 1 of	1978
I

NEW SOUTH

WALES DISTRTCT RT1GlSTRY )

I N THE MATTER of	the C o n c l l l a t l o n and
-
A r b l t r a t l o n A c t ,	1904

AND IY 77JF MATT%

of an rppl cat- [ o n

under Scct lon 140 of t h e s a ~ d

A c t

BETWEEN

M I C H A X

GER4RD

r ,OLL.~TD

and

pATr<JCK CI7.':E?? R1:;3'11,:S

c l a i m a n t s

AND

FKDERA'I'FT)

L,IQli?R

A*J3 1 . 1 . i ~ ~ ~ D

INDiJSTRTES CP:I-'LO\.,??S

:::.5?;%

OF .?

:'?.?.L -

DATE O F ORDER:	3 ~ p r i l ,	1 9 7 9
Sydney
-	WIIERR MADE:
--	THE COrJRT 0F.DCRS W T :

T h i s m a t t e r be

adjour:lcd

q e n e r - l l y

W ? t h 1l l~er : -y

t o

e , t i : ~ r

p a r t y

t o apply on

h o u r s notlce.

TNDUSTRIAI, PIVISION	)	V. NO. 36 of 1978
1
i?I:W SOUTH 11'7.I.ES 9TSTRTrT RCGISTRS! )

TN TIlI: PIATTrP of the Conciliation and

Arbltrction Act, 1904

AND

JN -

Tr-X

- -----

!1177:F.

of an applicaiior. ~:!icler

Sectlo~ls 140 and 141 of the sald Act

Claimants

AM)

J. I.l~,F??O, J . GCT)P>PD. T. TTi?iP.LZX-

- -- -

J. )i[T)??i'::, Y. ,2LLlSY?S:?:,

-- -

\Q. ] ,TV1 l;C:S,i'C?m,r: , I.

? T L T : i ,

--- p--

T. CPOTFF:'S, G. .+F'!.C?, :,. --- Ti7 n

. . > - a ,

-- -

K .

.:. !;-l.'.--:,

-- . -

- -

J .	y " v: *:-,.---7.-*

., .

-..

, -.. . ~. - -

----	- . -.	p
. .-.

P. EVA:;S, G. z:-r;c~,rn~.

- - .

. . ?

. L . ,

- -

- .

. .. .

and FI:Crl':il'Eq

I J ,:T.-:37

:A ;

. .-

--- -.

1EDTJSf~'PI!:S ::::13LrJ'.',,S

--1T1;':. C';

AUST!:II,IA

JUDGE fIX,?YC; OriCi'R: J.B. Sweeney J.

DATE 9F O?T?ZFI:

---

3 April, L979

TTIE COLIR'r OP,D7"C TiAT:

Order nisi discharged

I N THE FEDERAL COURT O F ATJSTRALIA

INDUSTRTAL

3 I V I S I O N

NEW

SOUTH

\:ALES

D l S ' r R I C T

----

RCGISTRA

I N TIIE MAT'I'EK of	the Z o n c l l l a t i o n and
A s b l t r a t l o n A c t ,	1904

AND l N THE PL4TTER of an appl icat ion

u n d e r Section 140 of

t3e sal6 A c t

BETWEEN

MTCITAEL GrRARD EOL4'TD anc'

- ----

PATR JCK O~:EC.JT:CVES

C l a i m a n t s

AND

FEDERATZD 1.IOL'OR

A?TD A L I IT[)

- -p---

INDTJSTRIES EI.:PLOYEES U':! ;"T

--p

- -

- - -

- --

O F AUST-W.LIA

(N.S.W.

No.

2 1 of

1 9 7 8 )

AND I N THE i?'ATTER	of	a n appl icat icn
-

under sectlo?s 140 and ].-l

of the s a l d 7.c

BETWEEN

MICHACL

GSRASD

R9L4!<D,

P 4 T R l C T :

p -- - - -

- -

. - p

REEVES and I(I7-j/'T:: ;$liJLT.?!?

- --

- .-

c l a i m a n t s

J. MLJNRO, J. GODDnPD, F'.

Si,',:?L'

-- -

-- - - -

. -

J. H ~ P H U

'r.

~ . Y I : S ' I I : I ~ ~ ,

-- -

W. LIVIi?CS'J'P:--1, ,T. DII,T20"; ,

- --

T .

C R O T I I E ~ S , C.

E X J C r ,

i3.

I?.?I; C

- -- -

-. . -

-- -

. .

----W- K. STOCKS, F. F-F'Y, !v. P?Y'TZ>,

--p - -- - -- - - --

J. fbI3RRIS, I;. L?I:~"TRY, '". :>!??'

CVAVS,

C .

EI'PACC~'~'T, ii. U T i L

a n d

T'PG;;?.\TE3

~ 1 Q L r : ) : r :

n:Tn

.-.L;:T-

- -- - -

-- -

- -

IP;D17SaTT;IES l:;.:'!

3'y-EZS

'I?

- -- --

AUSTRAI,IA

R e s p o n d e n t s

J . B .

SWECNC:. J.

3 APRIL, 1 9 7 9

These are appllcatlcns by meniF3ers, the General Secretary

and the ASSlStZnt General Secretary, of the Federated

Licjuor and Allled Industries lmployees Llnion of Australia

("the Union"). They are brought under the conclllation &

Arbitration Act, 1904 ("the Act").

In the first, N.S.W. 21 of 1978, an order is sought that rule ll(g) in the form in whlch it appeared at the time of the making of the Order Nisl should be disallowed as belng

in disconformlty wlth s.140 of the Act.

Tn the second

matter, V. 36 of 1978, orders are sought under s.141 that by treatlng as null and void and of no effect purported

the respondents, members of the Federal councll of the

resolutions of the Fedsral Council In November, 1970

amending rule ll(g) and rule 16. A second order sought

was that the respondents should perform and observe the

rules of the organization by acting bona fide in consid-

ering proposed amendnents to the rules. The claim for

thls second order :?as however abazdoned.

In additlon in these second proceedings an order was socqht against the rinion that rule ll(cj) and ruie 16(10) be dlsal- lowed as contravening s.140(1) of the Act. A further order was sought declaring that t.hc rules of the Unlon generally

contravene or alternatively that rule 13(a) in particular

contravenes s.140(1) by faillrg to provlde for the control

of	t h e Fede ra l Councl l and t h e Fede ra l Management	Con>fnlttee
o f	t h e Unlon by t h e members.

i s necessary

t o s e t o u t

t h e b r i e f

h l s t o r y o f

t h e m a t t e r s .

For

some

t i m e t h e z e g l s t e r e d o f f i c e o f

t h e Union

w a s l n

Melboul-ne.

Different

pe r sons were e l e c t e d t o t h a t o f f l c e

from

t lme

t o t l n e a n d , i f

n o t

a l r e a d y

r e s l d e c t

i n V l c t c r l - ,

t h e y

t h e n moved

t o and

took

r e s i d e a c e

i n V i c t o r i a .

I n

1967 a M r .

kcveigh became

t h e General S e c r e t a r y and he,

p r i o r

t o h l s e l e c t i o n ,

had

s a l d h e would

accep t

t h a t p o s t

o n l y

i f

t h e r e y l s t e r e d

o f f l c e and

h e a d q ~ a r t e r s

o f

t l l ? Union

were

t r a n s f e r r e d t o Canberra.

Th i s was

done and

i t r e m -

a i n e d

t h e p o s i t l o n

u n t l l

1978.

Durlng

t h a t

t lme

t h e r e w e r e

changes

i n t h e h o l d e r s o f

t h e o f f i c e .

I n 1377 t h e Fede ra l

Council.

dec ldcd t h a t a t some

t m e p r i o r t o 30 ~ m n e ,

1973

t h e

f e d e r a l o f f l c e and

headqua r t e r s

should b e

i n Elelbourne.

I n A p r i l ,

1978 t h e a p p l l c ~ n t

Bolalid

was

e l e c t e d t o t h e

p o s l t i o n

o f

General

S e c r e t a r y and

t h e applicant

Reeves

];as

e l e c t e d

t o t he

o f f i c e o f

Ass l s ta l r t

General

S e c r e t a r y .

The

e l e c t l o n was

d e c l a r e d on

18 A p r l l ,

1978.

A t t h ~ s

t lme

t h e

r u l e p rov lded

t h a t

t h e

f e d e r a l o f f ~ c e

sliould

b e

t r a n s f e r r e d

t o Kelbourne on o r b e f o r e 30 June,

1978 and t h l s appea r s Co

have been done a1:out

A p r i l of 1958.

Some t lme thereafter

t h e proceedings

r e f e r r e d t o a s N.S.W.

21 o f

1978 I i e re com-

menced.

Theye wcre by cor~sc-n+:

a d ~ o u r n c d

l;o

a l l o w rt71e l l ( g )

t o bc

cons idered

a t a mect lng of

t h e Federa l

C o u r c l l ar rangpd

f o r FTovc;nber

1378.

A t t h a t mes t ing of

t h e Fede ra l

Counr i l ,

r u l e l l ( g ) l n t h e form a t t a c k e d i n KO.

21 of

1978 w a s d e l e t e d and by

t h e same

r c s o l u t l o n

new

form o f

r u l e l l ( g ) was

adopted a s was

a new

form o f

r u l e 1 6 ( 1 0 ) .

seems

t h a t t t e convenien t

c o u r s e f o r m e t o a u s p t

t o

c o n s l d e r f i r s t t h e application

under

s .141.

I f

r each

t h e view

t h a t t h e amendments

t o r u l e l l ( g ) and

1 6 ( 1 0 ) were

v a l l d l y adopted

t h e r e

i s n s p o i n t

i n cons3der ing

r u l e 1 3 ( g )

I n i t s o l d form.

I f

r each t h a t vlew I

s h a l l t h e n proceed

w i t h

t h e q u e s t l o n whether

t h e y ancl

then

r u l s 13A and

t h e

r u l e s g e n e r a l l y a r e open

t o a t t a c k under

s.140.

I t should

added

t h a t t h e r u l e s have n o t y e t been

c e r t l f l e d but

have been

lodged

f o r

c e r t l f l c a t l o n .

V a l i d i t y

Alteration

t o Rules

The power

t o a l t e r r u l e s i s g i v e c to

t h e Federa l

C c u n c ~ l

i n

r u l e 8 and

t h e illachinery

f o r makxng

r,cw r u l e s and

a l t e r l n g

e x l s t i n g r u l e s is set o u t i n r u l e 39.	~ h l s	provzdes i n
paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 a s fo l lows :

"1.

new

r u l e s s ? i a l l h e made,

nor

s h a l l any of

t h e r u l e s f o r t h e t ime be inq

t h e Unmn be

a l t e r e d amended	o r r e s c l n J e d ,	exccpL	by
a t a mectlng of	f2cunci l .

2 .

Any

p ~ o p o s e d

new

r u l e

o r

a l t e r s t z o n ,

a r n e n d ~ ~ n t :

o r r e s c i n d l n y

s h a l l be

e!?dorsed

b-y

a Cr;inch

1.leetll)q . ~ n d

t h e

S*?crct .~~:-y

c'ich DraLlcii s l ~ ~ l ! l

n o t l f ; ~ th?

Gc~ercl .

.C:ecrel sly

i n wrl- i-~ng

a t let?.st

s i x 1.7ec.k~ ktcfore

; - o u n c ~ l

i.!e?tirlq

of t h e

propssed

a l t e r a t Ion.

The

Genera l

S e c r e t a r y

s h a l l

forward

thc!

p r o p 3 s ~ . d

a l t e r a t ~ o n

t o each e ranch a t l e a s t one month

p r i o r t o t h e rneetlrlg of

counc1.1 a t v ~ h ~ c h

proposed

new

r u l e o r r u l e s o r a l t e r a t l c n s ,

amendments cr rescinding of

r u l e s a r e to b e

d i s c u s s e d .

The

Branch

S e c r e t a r y

s h a l l

s7.1bmit

such proposed

a l t c r a t l o n t o a Brancn 1.1er.tiriq

p r i o r

t o t h e cour ic i l

Meetlng. "

Paragraph

d e a l s w i t h

method

o f

a l t e r i n g t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n

r u l e ,

r u l e 4 ,

n o t

r e l e v a n t h e r e .

A nilmhrr was made

q r o u n d s w h ~ c h

had been taken when t h e r u l e nix

were

abandoned

and u l t i m a t e l y t h e a t c a c k w a s

con -

f i n e d t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e amended

r u l e a s f j n a l l y adopted

d i f f e r e d i n some

r e s p e c t s from t h a t which had been

enricrscd

by a branch meet ing and t h e n for-wnrded by t h s Genera l

S e c r e t a r y

t o each

branch

and

~ u b m l t t e d

t o the brc.nch meeting.

The

r e s o l u t i o n

c a r r l e d by

t h e F e d e r a l

C o u ~ c i l

was in r h e

f o l l o w i n g

terms:

"Rule

11 -

sub - ru l e

( 2 ) - Delete Sub-rule

( g )

INSCRT	i n i t s p l a c e	t h e	fo l lowing: -
--

' ( g )

( i

)

?'he

General

S e c r e t s r y and

t h e Assist-2r.t

S e c r e t a r y

s h a l l

b e

e l c c t e d

a s h e r e i n a f t e r

p rov ldcd

and

t o tcr1nir.cite

e l t h c r o f f l c e

them

f o u r f u l l weeks

n o t l c e s h a l l be

g iven :

b u t

i f

such

o f f l c c i s t e r m m a t e d

i n accordanco w l t h Rule 1 4 , 1cA o r by

e l c c t r o n h e l d

a s provsded

t h e s e

r u l e s

t h c n

such

n o t i c e

s h a l l n o t

r e q n l r e d .

( g )

(ii) Any

rnenber

s h a l l be e l i q l b l e f o r cLcc t~ .on

General

S e c r e t ? I y

o r

t h e ASs lc tbn t

Gerleral

Secrr:t.!ry

pro:.:d?d

h e s l !z l l

b r ;l

f ; n a n c ~ ~ ? l

ri':,rber

the G n ~ o n

f o r two

years

i!mr-\iia t e l y p r l o r

t o nornlrial-ion.

(g)

(ill)

The place of employment of Che Ger.cral

S c c r c t a r y and

t h e Assls tanC

Genera l

S e c r e t a r y s h a l l b e

a t i h c ; :eadquarters

t h e Unlon.

I£

t h e y

a r e n o t

r r s l d e n t s

t h e s t a t e i n which

t h e headqua:-cers

are

l o c a t e d

they

s h a l l hccome

r e s : d e n t s

t h e r e o f ,

and

t h e

r e a s o n a b l e

c o s t

o f

t r a n s f e r

s h a l l b e p a l d

t h e

zmuunt

t h e r e o f

b e i n g determlrlrd by

Fede ra l Councll

o r

F e d e r a l

Comnuttce

o f

Nana:jeinetlt.

( g )

( i v )

When

t h e o f f l c i a l

d u t i e s o f

t h e Genera l

S e c r e t a r y o r t h e Ass i s tan t .

Generzi

Secrctax-y

necessitate

e l t h e r

b e l n g

a b s e n t

~ X , - J X

t i lo

Headqua r t e r s o f

t h e ~ n i o n

such

t r a v c l l 2 n g

and/or

o t h e r expensec

a s de te rmined

f r o x

tire

t inc 5 y CcL:ncil s h z l l bs peid."

T h i s r e s o l u t i o n d i f f e r s from t h a t which had been

endorsed

and c i rc11;ated

i n two

r e s p e c t s ,

f l r s t by

t h e i n s e r t i o n o f

t h e wards "by the~n" i n paragraph

(1) and sec.onclly

by rile

d e l c t l o n from r u l e l l ( g ) ( i l i ) o f

t h e words

"and

t h e y

s h a l l

r e s i d e n t s o f

t h e S t a t e i n w h ~ c h

t h e I Ieadquar te rs

o f

t h e

Union

i s l o c a t e d from

t ime

t o t l m e a s dec lded p u r s u a n t

t o

sub - ru l e

( a )

o f

r u l e 5 "

and by

t h e i n s e r t i o n o f

t h e words

"If t h e y a r e r:ot

residents

o f

t h e s t a t e i n which t h e i1ca5-

q u a r t e r s

a r e l o c a t e d

t h e y

s h a l l become

r e s i d e n t s

t h e r e o f

and t h e r e a s o r a b l e c ~ s t

o f

t r a n s f e r

s h a l l b e p a l d

t h e amount

t h e r e o r

b e i n g

d e t e r n l n c d by

Fedc ra l

Council

o r Fede ra l

Committee of !.:anage,nei..t. "

exam~r . a t l on o f

t i le

rulP-: showed

t h a t t h e -.m1 y

method

i n

which

t h e h o i d l r ~ g

t h e o f f l c c of

General

S e c r e t a r y o r

AssisCanl_

s c c ~ - e L a r ~ l

cot:ld

tc r r r .~na l

eel by t h e I'rilon

was

I n

z c c o r d , ~ ~ i c e

wit-!? r u l e 14.4 or by an e l e c t i o n .

The ru le r ;

provic1c:d

t h a t nol.lcr. 7, :~s nol.

1-equlrcd i n c i t h e r o f

t h e s e

e v c n t s

i n

t h c s o

c i r c u r i . s t a n ~ e s Che

first

p a r t

o f

t h e

r u l e

cou ld have

had

e p p l i c a t l o n

t o a

t r r m i p a t l o n o t l ~ e r

t han

one by

t h e h o l d i r o f

t h e office.

The

i n s e r t i o n of

t h e

words

"by them"

does n o t e f f e c t any change jn t h e meaning

o r e f f e c t of

t h e r u l c .

I t slmply makes

c l e a r e r t h e

p o s l t l o n

whlch

a l r e a d y

e x l s t e d .

f a r a s t h e second change i s concerned,

t h e rulc endorsed

by t h e v l c t o r i a n Eranch and subsequent ly circulated

and sub-

m i t t e d provided,

a s does

t h e r u l e adopted ,

t h a t t h e p l a c e

employment of

t h e General Secxe ta ry and t h e Assistant

General

S e c r e t a r y

s h a i l b e

a t t h e Headquar te rs

t h e 1 J r : l o ~ .

It then went S t a t e i n which

on t o s a y "and they

s h a l l b e r e s l d e n t s o f

t h e

t h e I l eadqua r t r r s o f

t h e Unlon

i s l o c a t e d

from t l m e t o t l m e a s dec lded pu r snan t

t o sub - ru l e

( a ) of

r u l e 5" .

I n s t e a d

o f

Imposing

t h l s d i r e c t

o l s l l ya t lon

t h e

adopted r u l e approached

t h e problerr~ by

p r o v i d i ~ g

i n

t e r v s

t h a t i f t h e two

pe r sons

concerned

"were no t

r e s i d e n t s o f

t h e S t a t e i n which

t h e Headquar ters

a r e l o c a t e d

t h e y

s h a l l

become

r e s l d c n t s t h e r e o f " .

Th l s p a r t

s e e m s t o m e

t o e f z e c r

change a t a l l o t h e r t han

t o ma?ce c l e a r e r t h a t pe r sons

may

e l e c t e d t o tile

o f f i c e bho

a r c no t

r e s l d e n t s of

cbc

r e l e v a n t S t a t e and

t h a t t hey coye under

du ty t o becon:e

r e s i d e n t s

a f t e r e l e c t l o p .

v i e w on

i t s p ropc r

i r i t ~ i - - -

p r e t a t l o n

t h i s i s t h e lneanlng of

t h e : - ~ l e

a s submltteci

f o r

endor se ren t :

Kanc v.

A . R . V .

. S ~ ~ f f

k s s o c i a t l o n ,

Acgust ,

1978 ( u n r e p o r t e d ) .

The

a d d i t i o n a l words

added

a t t h e r o u n c i l meet lng

then

t o p r o v i d e

f o r

t h e payment

t h e r e a s o n a b l e

c o s t

o f

t r a n s f e r and

t h a t t h e amount

t h e r e o f

should be

d e t e r -

mined by Fede ra l Counci l o r Fede ra l Corrmittec of Managexent.

The Fede ra l Counci l a l r e a d y had power t o f i x t h e wage r a t e s

and conditions

o f

employment o f

t h e s e two o f f i c e r s

(Rule i l ( f ) ( i i i ) ) .

The

r e d e r a l C o n m t t e e of

Management

had

g e n e r a l

c o n t r o l

and

conducr

o f

t h e a f f a i r s o f

t h e

Union whshlle

t h e Councll i s n o t s i t t ~ n g . Act lng under

e l t h e r o f

t h e s e powers

t h e b o d l e s

concerned

c o u l d ,

i n my

vlew,

have p r o p e r l y made

provision

f o r t h e payment

o f

t h e

r ea sonab le

c o s t s o f

t r a n s f e r .

r e g a r d

t h e p r o v l s l o n now

made

f o r payment

t h e c o a t

t r a n s f e r a s c l e a r l y w l t h i n

t h e scope o f

t h e amendment

endorsed by

t h e V ~ c t o r i a n

Eraxch

and

c i r c u l a t e d t o t h e

branches

and

c l c a r l y germane

t o t h e n a t t e r bc ing l e a l t

w l t h ,

namely

o b l l y a t i o n on

t h e p a r t o f

two

officer e

t o r e s i d e i n t h e same	S t a t e as the :'eadq~iar:ers	a r e
situated.

The q u e s t i o n argued i s then whe?.Ilcr

by ~ r i r t ~ e

r u l e 2 9

t h e Fede ra l Counc:il

cou ld conslf icr a p rcposa l

endorsed

by a branch and comlng b e f o r e it b d t could not: con side^-

any amcnclment t o such prcpqsaL a+-

a l l .

It is to be noted that r u l ~

39 provldcs a method whereby

proposals for rule changes arc to comc before the Federal

Councll meetlng.

It is obvious that the rule change 1s

to be dealt wlth at a Councll meetlng.

Rulc 25 provides

a set of rules of debate at councll meetings with prov?-slons

about the movlng and seconding of resolutions, the order of

debate, the length of speeches and the llke.

Provlslon is

also made llmitlng the manner in which matters declded may

come agaln before the council meetlng.

I think it quite cle~r that the rules cor.terrp:ate and show the intention of the Unlon that the rules of debate should apply at councll meetlngs deallnq with amendments to rules

as well as when dealing wlth any other matters.

Rule ?5,

In addltlon to the natters I have referred to, aiso pro- vldes "any umber of anend!ler.+s r~ay be prop2s+d an6 dls-

cussed slmultaneo~~sly

wlth orlginal rnotlon (slc)". This

of course appears to be a statement of the yenzral law on the matter. In hls textbook on Neetings, sir Percy J3s4e has said:

"A motlon of bhlch notlce has been glvcn may be

amended, althouqh no notlce of t h e proposed

amendil.znt. was glven prlcr to thr? me?tlng,

provlded the amend~ent

is hflthin the scope of

the origlnal n~otlon

an3 does r.ct ziter 2cs

natal..?. Addltluns to and alterat3ons of the

orlglnal moLlrm are allo<.,cd,

so long as the

nature of xhc motion 1s .-,at

affected, q,;~te

~rrespective

of whe'ihc? or not notlce of

amenhent was given hef ore the n,ectlnq.

I n

t h e csse

o f

c o r p o r c t i o n s ,

Halshury ,

4 th

e d i t i o n ,

V o l ~ m e 9

i n

d e a l l n y

w i t h

c o r p o r a t i o n s

says :

"1305.	Aniend:'ii?nt	of	rcso l .u t lcn .	P.	p a r t i c u l a r res-
-

o l u t l o n

o r

q u e s r l o n

b e l n g

b e f o r e

c o r p o r a t e

meet ing ,

j t -1s

open

t o acy

c o r p o r a t o r a t t e n d -

i n g t h a t lneetlncl

t o movc!

an arr.enci-ncnt

t h e r e t o ,

p rov ided

1.c

i s l c g l t l m a t c and gcrn7arle t o the

m a t t e r

i o r whlch

t h e meet lnq t ~ a s

r a i l e d :

and

t h e chalrman o r presiding

o f r l c c r is b o ~ ~ n d

t o

and p u t

t h e axendment

b e f o r e t h e mcet-

i n g f o r decision.

T h i s r u l e does n c t

a p p l y

where

t h c qucs t lo r l

b e f u r e

t h e meet lng

i s

s imply

t h e confirmation

o r r e l c c t j o n o f

som;!

act which h a s been

done b u t

r e q ~ l l - c s

c o n f l r n z -

t i o n

r e j e c t i o n . "

wh i l c Halsb-iry,	4 t h e d i t l o n ,	Volume	7	d e a l i n g w l t h conpa:;ies
s ays :

"589.

Amens~ent

t o r c s ~ l u t i c n s . Any

arr~ncirno~lt

f d l r l y e r l s l n g on a reso1r;t;on

whizh 1s

s p e c i f l c d i n t h e not-icc o f

meet-nq

and

wl thzn

t h e sco:?e

o f

t h e n o t ~ c e

may be propssed and

p a s s e d

a t t h e mee t lnq ,

and

c h a i r ~ ? z n

h a s

r i g h t t o r e f u s e t o p u t

such an a~r.er.chent.

I t

is u s u a l

f c r a

r e s o l t l t i o n

arnc-dcd

resolution

t o b e moved by one v o t e r and sec--

ondeci by a n o t h e r , b ~ t

i f t h e c h a l r r ~ n

c h s o s e s

h e can p u t

i t

t o t h e v o t c w l thou t

t h e s e

f o r m a l i t i e s . "

Tlle same n e w h a s been taken o f t h e rule-making r;o:lers

of v o l u n t a r y a s s o c l a t 2 o n s :

Dalcy v.

Gal.] acrher

(1925) Q.S.E.1.

t h i n k no

significance

a t t a c h e s t o t h e u s e of

che t e r n s

" t h e p r o p o s ~ ~ 3

alteration"

I n r c l e 3 9 ( 1 ) an3

(ii)

a76 the,

t e r n 1 " p r o p o s a l s t o a l t e r

c t c .

r u l e s "

I n paragraph

( i - v ) .

I t was

argued

f o r the applicants

t h a t minor

q u e s t i o n s o f

punctuation

cou ld be

c o r r e c t e d b u t

i f t h e r u l e r e q u i r e s

t h e p roposa l a s endorsed by a branch and no th lng else t o

c ~ r ~ s i i i e r e d ,

i s d i f f i c u l t t o see why matters of

punctua t loq

may

b e

excep t ions .

The purpose o f tti? r u l e is t o ensu re t h a t inembe]-s may have knowledge of what i s proposed t o be d i s c u s s e d a t a c o u n c i l

meeting.

O n t h e ;.dvlce

t hen

r e c e l v e d

t h e y may

o r may

n o t

d l r e c t t h e l r d e l e g a t e s how

t o v o t e and would

o f

co1:rse

e n t i t l e d t o d l r e c t then

t o v o t e f o r the propos-tl

and

zg;.mst

any amenclailent o r i n such ot!ler

nanner a s t h e aen11,ers tho:~qht

f i t t o g l v f

t h e l r d l r e c t l o n .

see no reason why

r u l e 39

p r e v e n t s

t h e

Councl l

from

c o n s i d e r i n g

i n t h e

same

]Tanner

a s

o t h e r

rule-maklng

b a d i e s

n o t

on ly

t h e s c t u a l p roposa l

b u t

m a t t e r s c l e a r l y w l t h l n

i t s scope a

qermane

t o i t .

For

t h e s c

r e a s o ~ l s

a m s a t i s f l e d t h a t t h e c e w r u l e s

l l ( g )

and

1 6 ( 1 0 ) were

p r o p e r l y

adopted.

The

f i r s t o r d e r

sought

was

bascd on

t h e vlew t h a t t h e r u l e s were no t

v a l l d l y

adopted and

i s s o r e fused .

I n m a t t e r P:.S.K.

21 o f

1378 an o r d e r

is nought

for a

dcc la ra i - len

t h a t

r u l e 1 1 ( g ) 1 s

i n d j sr.onfor-1r1 L;.

wit:?

s.140

the Act.

h a s bec~n p o ~ n t e d

o u t

t h c

o l d

r u l e 11!<1)

w a s rcpesleci and F,

new r u l r adopted h\. t h e

Federa l

counc i l

t h e Union.

?'hest>

amcnc?,~'ent.s ha.-re

been

lodqed w l t h

t h e R c g l s t r a r

f o r c e r t l f l c a t ~ o n ,

bu t

n o t

y e t c e r t l f ~ e d . I n

i t s o l d forrn

r u l e l l ( g ) p r o ~ l d e ~ l :

"He

( t h a t

i s ,

t h e

General

S e c r e t & r y o r A s s l s t z n t

General

S e c i c t a r y )

s h a l l r e s ~ d c

where

d l r e c t e d by

t h c Codncl l " .

S ince t h e C'nlon

CO-~ers

t h e wl>ole of

t h e cc:monwcolth

w i th

i n t e r e s t s

i n each

S t a t e ,

t h e Fede ra l

Counci l

a c t l n g i n

t h e b o a t

in : . e res t s

t h c rrnion

could veil

form an op ln lon

t h a t it was

necessary

f o r one o r t h e o t h e r

t o b e

s t a t i o n e d

a t d l i f e r e n t

p l a c e s

d u r l n g h l s term

o f f l c e a c c o r d m g t o

t h e needs o f

t h e Unlon a t different

t i m e s .

There r r lgh t ,

f o r example,

a p a r t i c u l a r rne~ibershlp

d r l v e ,

demarca-

t i o n d i s p u t e o r t h e l l k e w l th

ano the r

l a r g e unlon

o r a

p a r C i c u l a r

indcs:;r lal

d5.sput.e

whlcl:

r e q u i r e d

t h e p r r s ? n c e

o f one o r t h e o t h e r f o r such a t i m e a s would make

residence

d e s i r a b l e .

Moreover,

t h e Couxcl l

c o u l d ,

aga ln

a c t l n q

i n

t h e h c s t

i n t e r e s t s o f

the

Union,

r each a

d c c l s i o n

t h a t

was

i n thc.

mtcrests o f

t h e GnJ.on

t h a t t h c o f f l c e r

s h o l ~ l d

r e s l d e

l n J i f f e r e n r p l a c e s a t d l f f e r c n t p a r t s of

t e r n

of	c f f j c e .

a m s a l l c f i e d t h a t a

r u l e I n suzh a

form k:~ulci o f f c n d

a g a l n s t

s.140

and particularly

s . l 4 0 ( l ) ( c ) by

l m p o s ~ n y

upon

t h e

o C f l c e ~ - s

c o n c l ~ t l o n s

\:Illch

hav lnc r e g a r d

t o the

o b j e c t s of

t h e ~

and

Lhe pnrpcsns

r e g i s t r a t l o r i

were

oppressive,

unreasonable and u n f u s t .

Ro',rcver

t h e r u l e ]:as

ROW

beer1 d e l e t e d and t h l s awall:s

on ly

t h e c e r t i f l c a t l o n by

t h e R e g i s t r a r .

I n

t h e cl rcum-

s t a n c e s ,

t h l n k

should make

o r d e r b u t

ad jou rn

t h e

m a t t e r

g e n e r a l l y .

~t may

r e c t o r e d

t o t h e

l l s t

vlheil

t h e d e c i s l o n	a s t o certification	by	t h e	R e g i s t r a r h a s
been made.

Turnlny then t o V.36

1978,

t h l s s eeks i n a d d l t l o n t o

o r d e r s f o r t h e performance and cbservance of

t:he

ru l - e s ,

declarations a s t o t h e new

r u l e l l ( g ) and r u l e 16 dnd a

f u r t h e r declaration	a s t o t h e deficiency	of	t h e r u l e s
g e n e r a l l y .

Turnlily

t o t h e l a t t e r a e p e c t s ,

t h e p o s l t i o n

i s a p z l n

t h - t

t h e r u l e s have not

been

c e r t l f ~ e d . Prom

t h e terms of

8.140

I have very cons la ' c rab le doubt whether an o r d e r

may

be made

under

t h a t

s e c t l o n d e a l i n a w l th

t h e

r u l e s

which

have

no t

been

c e r t i f l c d .

J t i s c l e a r

from

s . 1 3 9 ( 4 )

of t h e Act e f f c c t u n t i l

t h a t t h e alteration

t h e r u l e s does n o t have

t h e R e g l S t l a r

h a s

c e r t ~ f l e d

t h a t

t h e

a i t e r a -

t101i

c o ~ n p l . ~ r s

w l th and

1s not

c o n t r a r y t o t h e Act

t h e

regula t l n n s an2 h a s bezn

madc

i n accotdance wi th

t h c

r e l e v a n t p rocedures l a i d down by

t h e r u l e s .

should

have th-.ught t h a t a r ~ l e

whlch d ~ e s

not h a ~ ~ e

e~f'ect: can-

no t br, said,

f o r exarnpl e , t o p revcn t o r hlllda3r

nienbel-s

o f t h e d ryan lzac lon from obscrv jng t h c :a,:.

"or conld

l t be

s a l d t o llnpose

a n - cond i t I o n ,

ob l lqa t - lon o r rez-

t r lc i Ion upon menil.>ers.

Cquzlly

1 t h l n k u n t LI

i t has

e f f e c t i t cannot

cornc 1:ithln

t l i c p r o v l s l o n s of

S. L40 (1)

(a)

( d ) .

1Io:vever

t h e r c i s wh;!t

i s a t l e a s t

o b l t e r of

t h e A c s t r a l l a n

I n d u s t r i a l

Court

t o t h e

c o n t r a r y

i n A l l r n

' J .

I . a r a a i

A.L.R.

261.

The

Court

was

d e a l i n g wi th

s p p l l c a L i o n s

whlch appear !.o

have be,?.? made uridcr 5.141 seek ing o r d e r s

i n r e s g e c t of r u l e s wh\;nlch had n o t yeC beer, certified.

The

c o u r t

t hen

s a l d :

"Apart from

t h e cpcrat lor!

o f

s . 1 7 1 C

t h e cl.almants

a r e e n t i t l e d t o an

o r d e r under

s .141

d l r e c t l n y

t h e respondents t o t r e a t t h e resolution

( t o

amend

t h e r u l e s ) a s vo ld and of

e f f e c t "

The

Courk

then proceeded

t o d e a l w i t h t h e I s s u e s r d l s e d

l n

a p p l l c a t l o n made

pu r suan t

t o s . 1 7 1 ~ .

~t i s t r u c t h a t

t h i s was

n o t a

d e c i s l o n of

t h l s Court bst

i t s predeces-

s o r ,

b u t

i n t h e c l r c m s t a n c e s and

p a r - t l c u l a r l y since

m u s t

d e a l

wi th

o t h e r p a r t s of

t h -

a p p l l c a t ~ o n

V - 3 c o f

1978,

s e e r s t o mc

p r e f e r a b l e

t h a t I

should d e a l w l t h

t h i s a s p e c t

a s w e l l ,

a l though

e x p r e s s

a r a v e doubts

a s

t o my

? : r l sd l r t lon

s o t o do.

I have a l s o hacl

i n in~.?d

t h e

p r o v l s l o n s of

s . 2 2

o f

t h e Act.

I have a l r e a d y set o u t t h e provisions

o f

ru1.e

l l ( g ) an2

r u l e

i n

t h 0 . r

a m r n d c d form.

S t a t e d

s h o r t l y ,

t hcy

liuipsse

an o b l ~ y a t l o n

oii

a u c c e s s f ~ l

ca~;Zlda te For

t h e

o f f l c e of

Genclal

S e c ~ c t a r y

o r ~ : - s l c ~ a n t

C+ncrai fcccc"ry

to reslde at the place where the head offlce of the Unlon

1s situate and provtde for the payment of the costs of

removal. It is of course a cormon feature that a person

seeklng offlce, elther parliamentary or in the course of

a career in the publlc service or in private industry or

in unlons to find that to fulfil the requirements of the

offlce he may be obllged to change his place of residence.

I n the case of this unlon it is clear that on past occa-

slons persons elected to the post of Federal Secretary head office of the UnlOn was in Melbourne and the require- ment of the then rule ll(g) was known to them. They also knew that the Federal council had declined shortly before to transfer the head offlce to Sydney. Tlle lmpositlon of an obllqation then, which, in practical terms, requires the two offlcers to reside in the State in whlch the Headquarters are located, namcly Melbourne, is not an

have on electlon transferred their residence to the place

where the head offlce of the Union was sltuated and that

has varied from tlme to time betlveen Melboarne and Canberra.

obligatlcn or condition cr restrlctlon ~7n'nlch

can be said

to be unreasonable, unjust or oppreeslve.

~t was put to

me that w~thln

the terms of thc rule the officer could,

for example, reslde air. \~:odonqa if he vlshecl. That is true in theory but oppssed to all the practical a ~ d

economic rcalltles and lf an o f f l c ~ ? :

choce such a method

of compl~ance

with che rulc-. I don't t::113-. he can be heard

to co!?plai n about 1 ~ .

Fede ra l

r u l e 16 previously

p r o v ~ d e d

t h a t

t h e

Secreteiry

should be

p a i d trhen

h l s d a t l e s necczs1ta t r .d

abserice

from home such t r a v e l l i n g and/or

oLher expc,nses e s may

d e t e r n l n e d

from

t lme

t o t lme by

Council..

' r h l s h a s

been

d e l e t e d dnd

p r o - ~ l s i o n

ir.scl-'-ed

i n t h e follov:i1?3

t e r m s :

"when

t h e o f f l c l a l d u t l e s of

t h e General

s e c r e t a r y

o r t h e h s s l s t a n t

~ e n e r a i

S e c r e t a r y

n e c e ~ s i t a t e

e i t h e r bolng

absen t

from

t h e Headquar te rs of

t h e

Union such determined from t i r e t o t i ne by

t r a v e l l i n g and/or

o t h e r excenses a s

Ccunc i i s h a l l 5 e

p a i d "

The substantial change i s t h e olnlsslon o f t h e word "1;ox.r.~"

and

t h e

I n s e r t i o n o f

t h e words

" t h c Xeadquar te rs o f

t h e

Union".

I n t h e l i g h t of

t h e views I have expressed a b u t

t h e amendnent

t o l l ( g ) I

s e e no th ixg which cou ld be

COT-

p l a i n e d abouc i n t h e new r u l e 16.

The normal

t e s t i n

any eniploynent f c r .the priy~nent of

?xpe!lses

t h l s n a t u r e

i s absence from

t h e p l a c e of

e c p l c p e r t , n o t

from harw

and t h e new

r u l e does n z t h l n g 1- l t

s e t t h i s o u t .

t h e r e f o r e qf

t h e vlcw

t h a t r e i t h e r

r z l e l I . (g )

nor

r n l e 1 5

i n t h e new

form

a r e open

t o a t t a c k i ~ n d e r s. 140.

Th l s b r i n g s m e t o the

remaining

q1:estior:

v h e t h e r t h e

r u l e s and

i n p a r L i c u l a r

r u l e 1

a r e c o n t r a r y

t o

Regulation

1 1 5 ( l j ( d ) made unil-3;

Lhc Act.

T t 1:

neces sa ry t o exalnine zhcr4:.liy t h e s f s t cm of

orqa-li z.it i cn z'.dc?p:--?il w!.th;n

t5e rJ!llon.

f+x?L~c?rs

a r e

organized

i n b ranches ,

t h e r c b c l n g one

i n each

S t a t e .

The brarlches and t h e i r numbers a s a t 30 June,

1979 were

a s	fo l lows :

New

sou th Wales

41 ,666

V i c t o r i a	14 ,862
South ~ u s t r a l i a	11 ,246

Queensiand

9 , 4 2 1

Western	A u z r r a l l a	6 ,308
Tasmania	3 ,653

87 ,156

p r o v l s l o n

i s made

f o r o r d ~ n a r y

meet ings

t o be h e l d by

each branch

a t l e a n t orlce

every t h r e e montlls.

A t t h e s e

rneetln(!s

t e n

form a

quarum.

I n a d d l t l o n

specia l . rr.eetir.qs

may

c a l l e d i n v a r l o u s ways

including 5 y r e q u l s l t i o n

financial memyers.

I n t h e c a s e o f

branch

w l t h more

than 2 ,000 members, 100 must r ~ q ~ ~ l s i t i o n

t h e

special

meetjng.

I n t h e c a s e o f

b ranches w ~ t h

l e s s thar,

2 ,009

membcrs,

2 5 must

r e q u l s l t i o n

t.hc

meet lng.

I n each

c a s e

t h e quorum

i s 25.

I n

a d d l t i o n t o t h e s e nieetings

t h e r e

1s provision

f o r s c c t ~ o n

meet lngs

i n r u l e 26A

and

t h e s e

must be c a l l e d on requisition by 25% of

t h e n:embersh~p

t h e s e c t l o n o r 100 members

o f

t h e secr-on.

'~"nere

i s ,

t h e n , ample meat lngs a t branch l e v e l and t o raise any 1ss7>cs

o p p o r t u n i t y

f o r m ~ n . b e ~

t o p a r t ~ c l p x t o

a t

~n a

forum of tile Uniori.

The

branch

i s t h e n ,

s u b j e c t

t o t h e

f e d e r a l b o d ~ e s ,

xanagcd

by a branch committee o f management.

his cons ; s t s

of 16

members

a l l o f whom

a r e e l c c t e d by

t h e members

t h ? Unlorl,

some

f o r t h r e e y e a r s and

some

f o r f o u r .

'I<he b r a ~ c h

commit-

tee o f managerent

i s bound by a r c s s l u t i o n of

a branch

mee tmg a t which

a t l e a s t 1% of

t h e m e ~ b e r s

were

p r e ~ , c n t .

There

i s a l s o p r o v i s i o n

f o r d e l e g a t e s and

shop

s tewards .

Turning

t o t h e f e d e r a l

s i r u c t l ~ r c ,

this

p ~ u v l d e s

f o r m m -

agc-men? and cor i t ro l by comni t t ee s .

With t h e Vnion, whose

membersl11.p i s sp read over t h e Corrmonwealtli,

i t i s oLv:ol~sly

~mpo;sibl.r

t o have nanagenpnt o r c o n t r o l by

~ o e t i n g a

m e m b e r s .

I t i s a

form o f government.

111 wh lc?~

t h e

sov?rcit ln

power r e s i d e s i n t h e membcrs

and is exer-crsed by

t h e i r

e l e c t e d

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .

The

v e r y

f a c t

p a r ~ o d l c

e l e c -

t i o n by

t h e members

e n s u r e s

s ~ m e

cc r i t ro l

i n them.

T?,c:

body

hav lng

o v e r a l l

c o n t r o l

i n

t h c

o r q a n l z a t l o n

i s

t h e

Fede ra l

Counci l .

I t

c o n s l s t s o i t h e General

S e c r e r a r y

and

i l s s i s t a n t

General

S e c r e t a r y

tbvl~o

a r e e l c c t c d t.y

r aak

and

f i l e members

t h e organl7a t io r l a t s e c r e t p o s t a l

b a l l o t s every

f o u r y e a r s .

add i t l o l l t h e r e a r c brnr:ch

repreuc-rl tat ivec

s l l d l n y s c a l e cccnrdinc; t o t h e

membership

p a r t i c a l a r branch.

A t t h e p r c s e n t

t i a c

t h e branches

a r e e n t i t l c d

t o r e p r e s e n t a t i o a

a e

sho::n

N e w

Srutl? v.dlcs

vict,1; --a

Socth

r \ i :s t~ai . i3

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ l l ~ l i l l - ~ c l

b'estcr!: ?ust:ril11a

Tasnbiniii

These branch

d c l e g a t s s a r e e l e c t e d by

t h e rank

and

f l l e

m e t h e r s of

each

brar:ch

s e c r e t p o s t a l b a l l o t t r l e n n l a l l y .

Fede ra l Councl l meets m c e each y e a r a t such t i m e a s 1s

dec ided by

i t s e l f o r thr. Fede ra l Committee

Manage~en t .

I n a d d l t l o n

i t h o l d s

s p c c i a l meet lngs

when

dec ldcd

t h e

Counci l

t h e C o m ~ i t t e e

Ma~agernent o r t h e Gene.-a1

S e c r e t a r y

and

Fede ra l

p r e s i d e n t

o r

t h e

General

S c c r c t a r y

and

f o u r Fede ra l Management

Com;nlttee nerr'uc-rs o r upon

t h e

p e t i t i o n of

two

o r p o r e branches

o r on

p e t l t i o n

s ig !~ed

any

i,uOw n e m e r s .

The c o n t r o l i s e x e r c i s e d by

i n between

rnsetlngs

t h c r c d e r a l Counci l

t h e F e d e r a l

Con-mittee of

Jqanaqenlent

t ~ h i c h

c o n s l s t s of

t h e

p r e s i d e n t ,

Sen lo r

and

Jun lc r

Vlce-Prclsl?ents,

t h e General

S e c r e t a r y ,

t ;?e T reasu re r

and

L'Tiree

T r ~ ~ : c e s .

They

a r e e l c c t e d by

and

From

t h e Counr l l .

The

P r e s l 2 e n t

h a s

d e l l b e r a t l v e v o t e on ly .

Act]-ons o f

t h e r c d e r a l

Committee of Managerrent may b e considered and r c v ~ r s t d

o r a l t e r e d by

t h e Fede ra l CounclL o r by

majority

o f

t h e

me~.bers of

t h e Irnlon

on a referendum.

I t w l l l b e s*?en then

t h a t t h e Federa l

co..:nzil

c o c r i c t s

1 9 mcml~erz p l i ~ s

t h e

C e n c ~ a l

S ~ c r e t d r y

2nd

Ass l scan t

General

Secret-dry.

R d l r 1?A prc-.ltdos that:

~nenbers of

any t b r e e branches a t meetlrlgs F! !

whlch no t less than l,:.

o f

t h e financial

rnenibc~rs axe p r e s e n t

nay

r c s s l l ~ t l o n

r e q u e s t

t h h t a

rcfcrend?;m

t L u n on p r o p o ~ c i s

t?.,i?-

t h e

i.l.lnaye~,cnt

Comn, t t e e o r Cm,-lic~l

t zkc

c , r

r e f ra ly? fror?

t a k m g

a ~ l y

s p e r l f l e d a c t i o n

o r

from

a d o p t ~ n g

any

c p e c i f l e d

I n add l t l o r i ,

i n my

view

t h e Fede ra l

Council

h a s p o l ~ e r

under

r u l e 8

e l t h e r a t an

o r d i n a r y

o r a

s p e c l a l meet lng

t o dec ide

t o t a k e

r e f e r e n d ~ r ! ~

i t s e l f .

T t s poke r s

under

r u l e 8

a r e a s fo l lows:

"The

supreine

c o n t r o l of

t h -

Union

1s v e s t e d

i n t h e

m e ~ ~ b e r s

Sub jec t

t h e r e t o

t h e

Fede ra l

Counci l

s h a l l be

t h e

governing body oT xhe Unlcn.

ir s h d i l ildve x i ~ e

g e n e ~ a l

c o n t r o l

and

condcc t

t h e b u s i n e s s

t h e llnlon

and

wl thout

l i m i t l n g t h e

fo reqo lng

i t s

powers

s h a l l

l n c i u d e

t h e

f o l l o ; , ~ l n g :

none

whlc::

1s t o be

l l m l t e d

i n i t s g c n e r a l l t y 5 y t h e

e x l c t e n c e

ano the r .

(l)

t a k e a l l such s t e p s a s it s h a l l t h l n k f i t

t o c a r r y o u t a l l o r any	of	t h e o b l c c t s of
t 5 e Unlon.

(11) 'I'o c10

any th ing wlllch rnjcht b? dcne by any

committee 01 bed\,

o r mcet lng o r o f f l c e r o f

t h e Unlon

o r any

p a r t

t h e r e o f . "

d l r e c t

c o n i r o l

o f

t h e c o r r ~ ~ ~ C - t e c s

by t h e rr,errbcrs r?ay b e

e x e r c i s e d by t h e h o l d l n g of

rnfcreridum under

r ~ l e

1 3 ~

o r by

t h e pov7er of

a rna lor i ty of

t h e Federh l rour lc i l

t o

dec lde i t s e l f t o ho ld a rc fe rendnx .

I t

1s t r u e t h a t

t h z e e branchcs

r a y no?

r e p r e s e n t

rnay)orlty of

t h e members

o r , t o p1:t

i t ano tha r w d y , :\at

t h e Few ::oilth

Wales branch

I n

co r lb l~ l a t

Lon wl th orie of a nu:.iber

o i otP.rr bral lchcs nay

r e p r e s e n t

1naJori ty C < ~:ie!-,bcrr.

and >.c';

f a . 1 t o o b t a ~ n

t h e

One must however look at more tha? r.he mere machinery.

ReferenLa are a cumbel-sore, tlme-consuming and very

expecslve operation for a unlon.

As a matter of practice,

and indsed I thlnl; by necessary implication, they bou!d

be conducted by eecrct postal ballor and they would

involve the printlng of cases for and against a partlcn-

lar prop~sal. Thls being so, the cost to a union is

very great and the union is entitled to llmit the rlght

to a referendum to truly important questions.

To conslder the posltlon of memSers desirlng to exercise control. over the cornmlttees, I take flrstly the bran& commlttee of managernenc. Provlslon is made for branch commlttecs of management to he elected by the meld3ers. Speclal neetlngs of the branch must bz held I£ requlsi- tioned and the nurrbers requlred to zcqulsltlon a meetlpq

are small.

The branch cormlttee of management nii~st

comply with any dlrcclion glven by a brar~ch

meeting of

rrembers at which not less th-:I 1;:

of t . 3~

flnenclal ~emnbcrs

of the branch sre prescnt.

T h ~ s

sccms an ent~rely

reas-

onable scheme whlch if anyth~ng

nlay be said ts he extrer-c-

ly favourable to those members see7.:inq to control the

branch commlttee.

I turn then to th,? posltlc:~

of n~n~lwrs

s~el:;,~,; to cantrul

t:he federal committees by a re£ercn:ll:n

of !ne~nl>ers. l'hey

may do so cithcr by seekinq a rrfc:e;,2ur under- rnle 13q

or seeklrlg a rc+fcr~ndunl

orc!,:red

121,

c3..:-z:i?

. In thi? forrxr

case members may summon a speclal meetlng of the b;-anch and issue a direction to the branch comnilttce of manage- ment to Initlate the actlon. The branch committee of

management would then if so dlrected seek the co-operation

of two other branches.

If it obtalns thls then the ref-

erendum must be held. ~t is wrong however to assure that each branch is homogeneous and thc members of each branch unlted in thelr views. It is much more llkely that if

there is a dlvlslon of opinion thls would be reflected

throuqhsut the union. If other branch cormlttees refuse

to co-operate in the call for a referendum, actio11 could

be taken to call special meetings of thelr members to

give appropriate dlrcctlons to the other branch cormnittees

of management.

In thls way a referendum may be required

evcn though opposed by the federal bodles. If hc~$ever two other branches d:) not co-opelate then the avenue is

stlll not clozed to the dissidenr. memnhcrs.

If thcy rep-

resent a sufflclent Lady of opinion within the union a

requisltioil for a spcclal meet 1r.g of the federal council

may be made by twa branches or one thousand revber-S. At

that speclzL meetlne there would be prescnt t.he nineteen

delt?gates plus ti:o

off lcers.

In the same manner as 1 have lndlcated earllcr, special

meetings of branches :nay reqdire that the branch comm'tee

of managepent Instructs its representatives to vote for

thc holdlng sf a referendun,. in a vote on such a refer-

cndum it wsuld not bc proper to regard the Generdl SecrcLary

and

A s s l s t d n t

General

S e c r e t a r y

a s

r e p r e s c n t l n g

any

p a r t l c u -

l a r branch

o r branches .

They

a r e e l e c t e d by

t h e whole

o f

t h e members

and

i t

1s t o t h e members

g e n e r a l l y t h a t t h e y

owe

t h e l r o f f l c e and

a r e responsible.

I n

t h e vot :~ng Chen

t h e f e d e r a l c o u n c i l ,

j f

I s s u e a r o s e on

which,

f o r

example, t h e New South Wales branch sought t h e holding o f

a referendum and t h l s w a s a

genulne d e s l r e o f

t h e majority

o f t h e members and ~ s s i s t a n t

o f

t h e Unlon

one w o - ~ l d

expec t

t h e s ~ c r e t a r y

General

S e c r e t a r y t o be

responsive

t o t h a t

d e s l r e .

' rnere wouid

trlen be a

t o t a i of

e l g h t v o t e s i n

favour

t h e r e s o l u t i o n

and

i t \%,ould be

neceseary

f o r

t h e New South Wales

branch on ly t o a t t r a c t t h e v o t e of

t h e d e l e g a t e s o f

one of

t h e ~ l c t o r i a n ,

South

A u s t r a l i a n

o r Queensland

b ranches ,

each

o f

whom

h a s

t h r e e d e l e g a t e s ,

o r o f t h e V:estern

Australian and Tasnallian b ranches , each

o f whom t o t h e r e a l i t . , e s t h a t i n ve ry many

h a s

two

d e l e g a t e s .

Al te : -na t ive ly ,

hav lng

r e g a r d

i s ~ u e s

branch m e r b ~ r s

and branch d e l e g a t e s may have v;ewr

whlsh d ~ f f e r ,

i t would

be sufficient g a t e s s c a t t e r e d over

f o r therr

t o a t t r a r t v o t e s

from t h r e e dc l e -

t h e f l v ~

b r l n c h c s .

Another

f e a t i x e whlch

appca l s

fro,?

thc.

r ~ i l e s

1s t h z t t?

e r e

1 s a complete o p p o r t u n i t y fo r

niernbers

t o have a

forum li

they wlsh

t o d e a l w l th

t h e a c t r v ~ t 1 . e ~

t h e c o m l i t e e s .

There

1s p r o v ~ s i o n

f o r unlon

dr: legates.

Thc pro7.?i.slon f o r

meetlnq.;

lnc l -de

sec t lo r i rne~l-ir~,:js

and branch ineetlrIg5 a s I

havc lr~dic;.tc.d and n 2 c i ~ f f ~ c ~ l l c y

s!>orid l?? found by a

m a j o r l t y of

members

i n any branch

o r indeed

any

s i g n l f l c a n t

m l n o r l t y

i n s ccu r lng

a meeting

and

v e n t l l a t l n g any

vlews

they

may

have on t h e a c t l v l t l e s o f

t h e comnl t tee of

managcmcnt.

The q u e s t l o n whlch

then a r l s e s i s whethe- t h l s 1s a

s ~ ~ f f l c -

l e n t

c o h ~ p i l a n c r w i t h

t h e

s t a t u t o r y

requlrcemerits.

v l r t -ue

of s.137 a s prescribed.

o f t h e ACE organizations must comply a l t h c o n d ~ t l c n s

The

r e l e v a n t p r c s c r i p t l o n i s Regulation

1 1 5 ( l ) ( d j ,

v l r t u e o f

t h j s regulation

t h e r u l e s must provide

f o r t h e

c o n t r o l

committees

o f

t h e a s s o c l a t l o n

and

i t s branches

merrbers

o f

t h e a s s 3 c i a t l o n and

t h e members

t h e branches

respectively.

The word

"con t ro l " h a s been

-1escrl'ued a s an

"un fo r tund te word

o f

such 111de and mblguous

irrport

t h a t i t .

h a s been

taken t o meln

so'nethlng weaker

t han r e s t r a i n t :

SOT?-

t h i n q

e q u l v a l c n t

t o r c q u l a t i o n "

( p e r Dlxon

J.,

a s h e

then

was, Rank o f Few So.lth ',:alcls v. The 7c~lrmon:-,r.elth 7 6 C .L .R .

a t 385).

I t must b e vlewed

i n the, c c n t c x t and hav l -~g rc9:lrd

t o

i.he

s u b j e c t

m a t t e r .

I n

t h e r e g u l a t i o n s ,

provision

1s n a e c

f o r t h e z l e c t l o n of

c o ~ ~ ~ i t t e e s

o f managerrent',

of officers a!-id

of any kody additional t o t h e committee o f managexenl

"wt~lch

1s ernpowered mandgemen t

t o de te rmlnc p o l l c y

o r

i-o

c x e r c l s e

f u n c t l o : ~ s oi

i n

t h e

a s soc l a t i o i :

o r

b r z n c t " .

Ilegard n u s t be p a l d t c t h e c l l lef

c)bjcci s

the A r t hic cl^

arn:

"s .2 ( a )

t o p~.-.n-o:e

go>ci:r>.ll i n i ~ d u s t r y :

(b ) t o cncouragc:, and pro\.:de pearis f o r , C O I ~ C ~ ~

L -

a t

i o n w l t l l ,A

./I er!,

:.c a7n

l cl>!.,:

agi-ea-rcn'i ,

I.l?ei i?hy :~r:,vcr:t ? n g a n 3	set!-i.1 ng	I rmdust	x ~ a l
d l s - . i t p ~ :

( c )

t o p r o v i d e means

f o r p r e v c n t i n q

and

s e t t l l n g

industrial

d l s p u t e s

n o t

r e s o l v e d

a n i ~ c a b l e

agrec:

n t ,

j n c l u d m g

threa te r led ,

impend~ng

and

pl-obable l n d u s t r l a l d l s p u t e s ,

wl th

t h c

maximum

e x p e d l t l o n

and

t h e xlnirnum

o f

l e g a l

form

and

t e c h n i c a l i t y :

( d )

t o p rov lde f o r t h e ohservancc and ?nTorcemer.t of agreements and awards made f o r Lhe pxeven-

t i o n

o r

s e t t l e m e n t

l n d u s t r l a l

d l r p u t e s :

( e )

t o enco1:rage

t h e organj z a t l o n 3f

repres ( !n ta t lve

bod le s

o f

e~np loye r s

and employees and r h e l r

r e g i s t r a t l ~ n

under t h l s Yct: and

( f )

t o encourage t h e democra t lc c o n t r o l of

organ-

i z a t i o n s

s o

r e g i s t e r e d

and

t h e

f u l l p a r t l c l p a -

t l o n by

1neml.1ers o f

such

an o r g a n l z a t l o n i n

t h e affaq rs nf

the

~ ~ r q a n j e a t i o n . ' '

The

importance

c f

t h e s e i n t h e cons lc ie ra t lon of

r u l e s 1s

emphasised

s . l 4 0 ( l ) ( a ) - ( c ) .

Among

o t h e r

t h i n g s ,

t h e y

must

not

impose upon nembers

c ~ i . d i t l o n s , obligations o r

restrictions

whlch

hav ing

r e g a r d t o t h e o b j e c t s of

t h l s

A c t and

t h e pu rpasas

t h e r e g l s t r a t l o n

r ~ r y a n l z a t i o n s

a r e o p p r e s s i v e ,

unreasonable o r u n j u s t .

object

( f ) i s

a l s o of

i m ~ ~ r t d n c e

a s a new prov1sI~:n i n s c r t ~ d

i n 1173

a t l e a s t assdmes

t h a t t h e r e r ~ a y

n o t b e a

complete o r

p e r f e c t

democra t lc

c o c t r o l

o i g a n i z a t l o n s

p rov ld lng

t h a t one o f

t h e o b j e c t s of

t h e ?,et

i s t o encourage t h a t

very	t h l n g .

l'he

purpose

l nco rpo rac lnn arid

r c y l s t r a t l o n of

org;nl-

z a t i o n

f a c l l l t c r t e t h e

sc':lemc

conc I !

l a t l o n and

a rb -

f o r t h e purpLse of-

t h e

r ~ q u l a t l o r l ,

cne m u s k havc

eqzr:d

t o

t h ~ s

pur? >S,-.

A . 'n io~ 1~11s t - bc:

repi-?scr~t

at-.iv? zf

1 t . c rne;nix?rs

A t t h e same

t in .? ,

i t r ~ ' ~ s t

have bo:ljr_s

capab le of rrak?ng ?c??

LP.

d e c l s ~ o n s

and

c a r r y i n g

o u t

f u n c t ~ o n s

o r managerent and

o f f i c < < r s

and committees a r e expec ted t o be

z b l e t o i n f l u -

ence a r ~ d ( s e e f o r examp1.e.

c o n t r o l

t h e i r mombers

i n i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i c n s

s . 3 3 ,

s.132A,

s .143 of

t h e A c t and ~ r a d e

P r a c t i c e s

Act

s.45D).

Occasions mst

f r c q c e n t l y a z l s e when

q u l c k decisions must b e made

i n circumstances wl-~lr'e

t h e r e

1 s no p o s s i b l e t i m e f o r determination by a

r-eferencium.

The

deg ree of

c o n t r o l cantiot b e

s o g r e a t a s t o ensurm?

d l r ' ? c t

m a j o r i t y v o t e of rembers on a l l o r even most

l s s u e s .

Added

t o t h r s i s the

f a c t t h a t a

s e r l e s o f

r e f r r e n d a

c o ~ l d

qulck1.y

bankrupt

a union and t h a t t h e system i s c*s lbrous , s l c w znd

time-:,astlng.

The iinion t h e n i n my

v1c.k

is e n t i t l e 5 t o

ensu re thal; a referendrun i s used o n l y when an issucx of b l t a l

importill-,ce a r i s p s and

is entii '1e.l

s o 1.0

f r a r ~ e

i t s

r ~ : l e s t o

ach leve t h i s .

Referenda

a r e n o t

c o m ~ o n

i n Australian

p o l l t i c s

and 1 s e e no reason t o t h l n k t h d t t hey form a

necessary

p a r t

of c o n t r o l by Here hon~evor 1 am

t h e members

t h e coz ln l t t ees

they ha.,.e

e l e c t e d .

clea!ir.g

w l t h a c a s e where provls:oris

f o r a

r e f ~ r e r i d u ~ n

do ?:<lst.

I t should h e added thaL t h e 1cyls:al ur.+ ha::

nlol-? and mocc

encroached

t h e

f l e l d p r e v j c u s l y

covered by

r e g u l ~ t l o n e .

P rov l s lon was

e a r l y made

t o c n s u r r

tha;

t h e r a l e s were

p c r -

formed znd ob,r?rvcd by p rvv ld lng t h e rer.ed!.

I n s .141.

Sec t lon

143

i n v s r l o u s

for118s

hCls a l l v c e d

i n sxne

c a s e s

the

d i s z l l.ow.rnce

arlcl

I n otl-icrs

the

r:;~king sf

c?fxclsi.>ns c ~ n c e i - n l n q

t h e v a l l d l t y af

rule:-..

!<;>re

~-cce>rl t ly

t h e r e ?:h .c

hecc

p r 8 j v ~ s l ~ : : 4

t o c.nsure pxoper ly conrlccted b.11 Lots a n d i l l a t pp-son.;

1iolcl:ng

o f f i c e a r e p r o p c r l y

e l e c t e d

and

s o t r u l y

r e p r e s e n t

t h e i r

members.

I n

a d d ~ t i o n

t h e power

removal

o f f i c e r s ,

provl-sion of

which

i s r e q u i r e d by

r e g u l a t ~ o n

115 h z s now

been

d e a l t with

s t a t u t e and

t h e c l r cums tanc r s

i n which

it may

e x e r c i s e d s p e c i f l e d .

So,

t o o ,

a u d ~ t s

and

f l n a n -

c i a l

r e c o r d s

a r ?

d e a l t

wltil .

~t may

s a l d a l s o [-hat a p a r t from any provisions

i n r u l e s

coinmltires of

managemenl

ray be

o b l i g e d by o r d e r s undr r

s.141

izo

periorrn

and

r ~ b s e r v e zilc

l u i e s .

i r l exercJ.slliy

C I : I ~ ~ u i n -

rnakjng powrrs t hey may

have they a r e s u b j e c t t o t h e po;.:ers

o f

t h e Registrar

under

s.137.

I n e l ec - t l nns t hey

a r e furLher

s u b j e c t t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s of

s.133A

and P a r t IS.

Lhese

provisions

l a y down

fo rmidsb le s \ . r i e s of

p r o v i s i o n s

i n

which

t h e r e

e r e r e s t r l c i l q n s

and

c o n t r o l s

and

n~e thods whereby

a c t l o n may

t z k e z agains!

c o t m i t t ezs by

menlbers

t o cnfor4:e

the

r u l e s o r p r o v l s l o n s of

t h e ?.ct o r regulations,

a l l desjyneci

t o ensu re

denc,c~-at ic

llnlon.

Becolre

t u r n i n g

t o t h e 2 u t h r ) ~ l t l e s

t h e r e a r l s e a t h e ~ ~ e s t l o n

r a i s e d

i n Cx

P a r t c John

Pe te r

biayric?

and 01s . 7.9 May, 1.978.

I n that

c a s e M ~ S O : ~

J. i n a ]udqmcnt which $.as agLee.1 t o by

Barwlck

C . J . ,

s t ephen and Aickln

JJ.

s a i d :

" \<hether r r g . l 1 5 ( l )

( d ) ( v ) 1s

d l r e c t c d

t o t h e :-orlkrol

t h e -~cl,,'rcrs of

tile

2~x1~3s:

t l o ~

c;limltI-~e.': o r

the

, ~ c t l . , , ~ t . l c o

cc,n:mlt'iccs

o r bot-h i s a q . d n s ? i ~ ~ n

of const.ruct-I on fillcl ;#S 51:ch i

t v,as an I FsIle ivhlcil ~ ' I C

[?our;. ha:i

r o d c t t e . n ; ~ ~ ~ ,

1 1 1 t h e exerc i z:e 9:

~ t s

3url.s-

d i c t ~ c n . I t

d i c ~ c i e d ch?

s r ss.~.?

2,). CO. ~ l u d ~ r ~ s

c h a t

t h e x~';11113,

~ , . n

j~:l

1.4

t :~ ( '

d~m-e'l-

e l f ~ c t

~ o n

~ ~ ~ n l m 1 . t -

t e e s by n~l-mlicr:: of

an orc;inl

>;tlol-.

J i i SO

dojnq 1 1 -

accorded

t o t h e r e g u l a t l o n

~1n

1 n t e r p r c t ~ t : l o n s l l ~ j l a r

t o Che

cons t ruc t - lon whlcb

I have plat.cd

s . l 3 3 ( l ) ( a ) .

d o x l t

t h e c'ourt-

a p p r e c i z A e , l

t h a t t h e r e was

t h l s

~ d e n t l t y

between

1 h e

two

p r o v l s l o n s

and ,

accardi.r:gly,

i n i t s formal

01-dcr

incl l idrd

pa r . ( a ) a s w e l l

p a r . ( b ) .

The r ea sons whlch

it advanced i n r e s p e c t of

t h e regiula-

t i o n s e r v e a s a

s ta ;ement

r easons

for- t h e cozclu-

s i o n whlch

expressecl

i n r e l a t l o n

t o s . l 3 ? ( 1 ) ( a ) . "

The p r e s e n t c a s e was

argued on

t h e bas1.s

tha7-

t h e a t t a c k was

made

t h e l a c k of

c o n t r o l of

t:11e

a c t l v l t l e s of

t h e ~:omnii.ttces.

a t t a c k was

made

t h e ne thod o f

e l e c t l o n o f

e i t h c r o f

t h e

bodlec

and

have t h e r e f o r e cors;dered

o n l y t h a t a s ~ o c t

c o n t r o l o f

activities.

Before l ook inq a t t h e a u C h o r l t l e s

should say

t h a t

seems

t o me

t h a t each c a s e musk

t u r n very much

on i k s OWE

f a c t s

and

i f

t h e r e

i s ev idence a s t o p r a c t l c e o r t h e

? f f e c t

o f

c e r t a i n r u l e s t h a t may

be material.

Here however tYere tvas no ev idence showlng any 7-nablllt-y of

a major1t.y f a r a s t h e cnm17mll-cer.s a r e csni'errle?.

o f

members

t n e x e r c i s e i t s v o ~ c c

o r

c o n t r o l

s o

The

ev idence d ~ ; i

hwnr-

e v e r

show

somewhat

chaqglnrg

p 3 s l t l n n

i n t h e c ~ j m p o s i t ~ o n

O F

t h e Unlon.

The Tasman~an and Queensland branches seem of

relatively r e c e n t o r l g l n and the ?ueenal>nd branch a:

prc:c-.t

cove r s on ly p a r t o f

i-h;lt S t a t e .

The Western Aust:rallan

bran(-h

was formed a s 1at:e a s 1974.

Therc 1s no redson t? believe

t h a t chr~njc-

h a s ender:. ~ r l

th1.s 2nlon o r i.hat

i-he i-cld: l v e

s t r e n g t h of

t:hc

b;-ancht s

w i 11

rc : i l~ in a s a t

prc,scnt .

The ques ; lon

t h e regulation

requiring rulcls k?llch e x e r c l s e

c o n t r o l

was

d e a l t

~ 1 1 t h

t h e rormonwealth

c o u r t

o f

C o n c l l l a t l o n

a ~ l d

A r b l t r a t l o n

l n Forcl

F( d e r a t e d Yl sce l l ancous

:Jorlier.;

Imloi-

79 C .A .R .

147.

I t appears t h a t t h e r u l e s o f t h a t u n l o r ~

provided

f o r a

f e d e r a l c o u n c l l and

f e d e r a l exccu t lve .

The ie

was

no provision

br ne rmdic 6.lec.tlons

t o t h e f e d e r a l c o u n c l l .

The f e d e r a l e x e c u t i v e was

t h e committee of nanaqe-'ent

a11d it

was

e l e c t e d by

t h e 'ederal

c o u n c l l .

p r o v l s i o ~ l

appea r s

t o

have been

msde

p u r p n r t l n g

t o d e a l with

t h e c o n t r o l

t h e

f e d e r a l c s ~ n i v t ~ ~ e s .

!Toreover

a l though t h e union was

o ~ q - l n ~ z c d

I n b r a r c h e s , no meeklng of

any o f t h e ~ o s t

l rnportant

branckcs

had been

h e l d

f o r mcny

y e a r s because

t h e quorum neces sa ry f o r

t h e

v a l ~ c l l t y

o f

t h e meet lng v:,?s

such a f i g u r e t h a t c ~ u l d

n o t

ob ta ined .

F o s t e r J.

s a i d a t p.153:

"Tllere 1s no way provided

ir. t h e s e r u l e s whereby t h e

c o n t r a l of

t h e Commlttecs by

t h e rnenlbers

d l r e c c l y i s

s e c ~ r e d . The:,

can

n ~ l t k c b r

d i r e c q t

corni~~an.1 restrain,

check

nor

f o r b t d ,

nor

can

t h e y

s u b s t l t u t c t h c l r w l l l

and

~ u t h c r i t y -

f o r chcit a f

;-he

? o r ~ ~ l c t e e

05 ;ianzqencnt

and t h e indirect

power

c x e r t e d thrcugh t h e I7eder,il

Council

: S l l m l t e d t o a pcwer of

r,-.rn2val and repl-;ic:c-

ment of

some of

r h c ir,ea~tber;. of

t h a r a-ornl t:.ee."

Agaln

t h e ?omonvrcalth

Court

C o z c ~ l l a t i o n

and

A r b i t r a t i o n

i n Spence

- v.

P o s t a l

!<o?kers C 1 r .n .n .

115 d p a l t w~l'h r i l e s of

---p

a unlon where t h e govexnlng h-dy appea r s t o have been t h e

annual

c o i i f ~ r e ~ . c c

2nd L-he nan<lr:ern~->nC

cs:r:ilttce,

t h e

f e d e r a l

execn t ive .

The

mana>~cvcnt

corrmltier v,a.:

c l e c i e d by

dc-,Legates

l o the annual cnr.fcr ence.

D l f f e r c n t hr:-ichr,s

dlfCc.1 l n q

s t r engi h

r-a*-h had

one

:ote

. l 1

I he

c : r , . ? ~ o n .

I n a d d l t l o n a

r ~ l e

p1 C' ~lclezl for

??I-, t a k . nq

#-#f

a 1-1c.h: S C J t e 5 y a

i-ecu~rr:~li_.nl

o f

a t le, si

1 111-~1 o i i . '~e hr.,-;cht,s.

T1.e

judclr. c n t

I S

s h o r t bllt

lt appea r s

t h a t t h e a t t a c k on

t 5 e r u l e s was

based on

f a l l u r e

t o c o r p l y

w l th

t h e

p r o v 3 s ~ o r 1

f c r e l e c t ~ o n

and furthrar was a

f a i l - u r e t o p rov ide

f o r c s n t r o l o f

t h e somn~it.l.ees.

The

2r;dg-

ment of t h e Court. was delivered hy Klr?,y J. who s a l d :

"?'he

a t t ack r u l e 12 based

or.

t h e par-t l c u l a l - system

c s n t a ~ n e d

i n

on	t h e f a c t t h a t t h c d c l + g a t e s from

t h e ,!L£ f e r ~

b r a ~ c 3 e s

rep;e:.en

t l ng

v a r y m g

n u ~ b e r s

o f members

have each one v o t e cannot

i n t h e o p ~ n l o n

of my

b r o t h e l s Dilnphy and Ashburr:er

s::cceed,

p a r t i -

c u l a r l y

i n the

l i g h t of

t h e ?rov7-sion f o r g l v > n g

e f f e c t

t o t h e

z p l n i o n s

t h e mcnbers

g e n e r a l l y b l r

p l e b l z ? l t z

ccn td lned

i n rulr.

2 1 \%,hicl1 my

b r o t h e r s

cons2 d e r

s:,f f

l c l e1:t

111 t h ~

C I ~ C U ~ S '

ances of this

p a r t l c n l a r

o r g a n l z a t l o n .

op in lon t h a t t h e provis iol1 f o r t h e t a k i n g o f

plebl . ' ;ci tes

n o t

s u f f l c ~ e n t l y

p r o t e c t i v e

o f

member;

gene-all:/,

huv ing regal-d t o t h e requlreat . , t

t h a t a t

l eas t .

t h r + c of

t h e branches zlust

d i r c , . t t h e zonfercncc~

o r

Fede ra l

Czccut lve

t o h o l d

p l e b ~ . s = l t c

o r a

p a r t l -

c u l a r

q u e s t i o n . "

Examinatloc-

such o f

t h e f i l e s a s a r c a v a l l a b l r ::uggcz?5

t h a t t h e c f f e c t o f

such

a r u l c was

t h a t t w ?

b ranches

covFr lz -

l n q proba5ly

t h e m ~ ] o r i : - y

mem!~ers < o d d no t

r e q u i r e a

p leh isL .1

::r+

i o b e 5 e l d .

Phr? qslest i31. h a s

a l s n been

c ~ n s l r j e r e d

t h e Comln3nwcalth

Ind l i s t

r 3 a 1 Court

i n - -

i~:ac.kei-zi c

':.

Film t n l s + r e

. -. -U--

---

and

Clerical

r ? f f i c e r s ?,ssoclt i ~ c l ? 5

F.L.P..

342.

The

- u l c s 3 1 1

. -

t.11,it

c a s e plov~r; .>d

f o r tht, e?.ectlori s C officers by a icci t , r?l

confere , .ce .

Fedc.ral conference was c~ ,?posec?

d e l e g c ~ f c s

e l e c t e d 14.

each

brznch.

'DAJ , l c l c g a t e s f r sm ~ a c h

branch iri-2-

spec t i - r e o f

t h e nun:bers

i n t h e branch were

e l e c t e d .

The

t o t a l

each hacl

5 , 0 0 0 cc?< rre-hel-s 2nC thr: s i ; lal leet branch 595 nc:nb.;rs.

. .

Therc I,..crG sevcn brz:ic?.es ;tf

l-llc? c[-qcnlzat.i.o,..

Dr3v~s1011

!\'i!S

macie f o ~

a ple:,l.ccltc

h u t 0.:1,, I< r? r c r ~ ~ l r r d

1,i'

a t 1c.a.:'

~ C I ' I '

branc .11~~. If

s pleb1 sc 11-c were h e l d and t ! ~

propo:;al carr1c.d

by a

m a j o r i t y i t would

no t

beci,mc

r?ffecl.lr,e u n l e s s 111 ad(lltLor:

K O

t h e 7:Iajority o f members

t h e r e was

a r a j ~ r l t y

i n

fo-.~r of

t h e sevcn branches

i n f avo~ : r .

t h e s ?

r l l e s Splccr- C . J .

s a i d :

"These

c o n s i d e r a t i o n s

l e a d re

t o

I-he c o ~ c l u s i o n

c h a t

t h e r u l e s a r e capab le of

opera!-lon s o a s t o p:-cveqt

1:he ~111

of t he i,icl j ~ ~ l t y

ci'

men~lj-rs prevai . l~:~.j .

t h a t e x t e n t the ,

f a ~ 1

t o p rov ide foi- ' :ontrol

col:-

f e r e n c e

and

lhe

r s c c ~ . t i v e

co1.1ncll hy t h e membzrs,

and impose upon t.he ;i?eTPj.ler~ C O P C ~ ~ ~ ~ C > ~ . P

which

d r e

oppresc:ve.

:.nrca:-onabl(, and un:usC.

a c o n s t l t u -

t i o n of

t h i s k lnd

i t

is n o t

improper

o r 1n; l~:nropr ia te

t o halre provlrlon: .

v:h~cf: en:ure

sonc s tabi l1t .b

and

enab le thos.?

charcjed w i t 3 11-s mana:reme,?t. and

a d ~ , i ? i i -

a t r a t l o n

t o p r o r o t e

i t s p o i i c y wi thout

r ega rd

t o every

f l L i c t

lat3 nq chdngc I n t h e v ~ ~ w s

of mr-wi.rere.

On l h e

o t h e r han-l a

const1tut ;on

\ ~ h l c h

i s *o f7-aled t h a ~

t h e

b.111 of the m a ~ o r ~ t

may und~ .c ~t never pr.c?vad l =?:-vs

t o m#.

t o o f f end

a:.,:lnsn

t h e n o t

and

t h e r e g u l a t i o n s . "

I n L:~cJ:~ian

f i u s t r a l i c n p o s t a l

and ~ c l ~ c o : ~ ~ u r ~ l c ~ i t

l s n s ;JnI cn

--- --

- -

(un repor t ed - 10 October , 1378) I considcl-cd t h e zhse of a

union w!i;ct~ co?,_nrised .six b ranches , two of t5~:rn v e r y il?uc!l

g r e a t e r i n s t r e n g t h

than

t h e ol.hcre.

Cont ro l

t h e

c n i m

reste~!

\YS t h an annual :-o~:fc~ec::.e and 2 federal excc~~?-l. .re.

The ann31al c..r,fcrencc

c ~ n s l s t e d

of t w ~

d e l e q a t e s

from

each

whole of

the m~m5crsh lp . The 3 f f l c e r s ho!:eucr

wct-e not:

e n t l t l e z tc v o t e on

any

i s s ~ s . J

t h e > s > i d :

I, I

considering r u l e 6 ii 1s lit,. : > l a ~ n

t 9 a t

l-he two

b l y y e s t brancnc?

comn:~l-ls;r~q

65': of r.he mcrnbcrs , may

have t h c ~ r

w l l l t h w z ~ t ~ d

b:-

t h e

r cp rc sen ta t i - ; e s

t h e

r~3111-,r

-,nc::r-:-

rc ; r r~ .?n t r,o ?,o!ne 35":- of r;v?n~hc.rs..

' T f l r s

Toll rT.\*s I-,o-.c,3ulcc ear:.

!?I

~i:m:b

r : ~ r l i $ ? ~

r>~..::%s hA5

]:C?

sarnt,, n~m1~r.r

i'f

v;~t+:?.

2, r . l i c i n sdr.11 fu1181

? I ~ T ? ,

.ars CO

no t i o a f f o r d ;i prcg*:,r nlu:sdl-,l

oJ'

s:ontr.)l of c2,8'-

1XJ.t 1-f C > of

:?,f-

v : l l C r l

L k 3

L!,- ,

5~~:7lk$l

0t 1:?1(2

~ 1 ~ 1 0 D .

I t

c ; ~ ~ l t c

cl ,<:l

l.\, <>,>c$ no: m;~':,~

fa1

~ ~ L : I O

' ~ a t ]

C ~ ~ i i ~ l - 0 1

t h e

8 n:r.,-. z.>?

1 s

: 0

- I

."(l

o1.e

:ch ~ I I : ~ C ~ S

-,S

condlr l r , r .,

h ~ l l l ~ 1 :

i l l , :

0ppLC:CC;iVP

clll.i

U . ? I I U S ~ . "

I t w l l l be

spen

t h c c

t h a t

t h e r e

a r c m a t e r l a l

d l f f e r e z c e s

betwccn

t h e r u l e s whjch

ha--.e

been

c s n s i d e r c d

i n each

c a s e

and I a g a l n empllasls;.

t h a t eacl-I c a s e mast be determlncd. on

i t s own

f a c t s and i t s ovn r'11es.

Havlng

r ega rd

t o t h e whole

t h e c l r c * i ~ l s t a n c c s

>er#? 1 r . c l ~ d -

l n g w h t seems t o Ice

a f a c t o r o f rria]or imnp3il.2nce,

tlia+: t w 3

o f f l c e r s ele.:t?d

by t h e ;rho;e?

t ? ~ e

m c ~ j r c r s h l p

a i e me~.bcrs

t h e c o u n c l l w l th equa l rights.

chink

t h a t thes, .

rule:?

do i-01.

r~ f fcnr l

a q a l n s t

t h c prov1slc.r -: of

t h e

r egu la t lo . ? .

The

r u l e s T

a m cons ldcr l i lg d ~ f r e r

q ~ l t e

ma te i - l a l l y

froln

t h o s e

i n t h e ecrl er

cases .

;~ Iackenz le t s

Case 5

F.L.R.

3 4 2 ,

f o -

example,

t h e ~ n l o , ,

had seven bran:hes,

two b l q and f ~ v e

sma l l e r .

Each

branch was

e n t i t l e d t o t h e sane nuriber

delegatrss

a t confr2rence

2nd

d c , l e ~ z t - : s

o12;y ?:ad a vat.? .

t h e

confcicnc.'.

Three

o f f 1cer.i werf

e l?c tc r l by

t h e c.,nf ,?rei icc

and

t l ic

f o u r t h was

n o t

e l e c t e d 1,ut ap?arent.l:7

a9poln ted .

T t

was

: ~ o i orlly ne:csaary

f o r f o ~

r bra:lches t c ra?cJul:-c 2 p: eb1.s-

c l t e b72t

t l ~ e

f imtter on

w h ~ c h

t.'le vclLe . v s take,: had t o ~ J E

appriwcd no t ~ e r e l y

by a 1n;ijorl::v

of ( l ie tol.21 vol ar.r.: b1.k

l ? d ] o r ~ t y l n a

nla 107- 1.t;~ c f

St..>l:e.-.

I n

L ~ c ' ~ n , : n ' s

Case

(10 October ,

1978) a g a l ~ l

on1 y

b ~ i ~ n c l i

del.egat-es, t h e sain,:.

nurli>?:- f ~ o n

e?ch i~rinc:; were ent1l . led t o ;,a:-c

2 t t!ie

c o n f < ~ r c n c e . l 'hcre we:-e

SIX

bt-ar.ch,-S,

t v c ~

1.arqc

2nd

f o u r -

sma l l .

p1 ~I IL .s~ .L! -+

:n; qi-t Sr,

. i l r , -c l . rJ

o l ~ l y

i?y

t l lc ,:?nl~crcr~c+2

o r i h e r>-r?ciltivc bcf

' h?

c rc:u:.-.~\.,:

: : ; .s

t ~ 1 1 r t : I I n a c t ac,

di-t c,

cc!

malol- l ty of

brs:lchc!s.

111 Fc?-*l v.

r4r .1 ,? ted

t * ! ~ ~ c ~ l l * i r ( ? S ' : S

workers Union 79 C . A . P .

137 t h e r e was no provxs lon f o r

p e r i o d l c

elections

t o t h e f e d e r a l

council,

t h e domlnant

bod,..

The rul1.s

were such a s t o make i t imposs ib l e For

I>ra:~ch

rllcstings

t o b e h e l d .

I n

Spcnce

P o s t a l \ i o ~ k c > r s

8 1 C.A.R.

115 t h e annual conference znd

t h e rna7aye.l.cnt

committee were campssed o f delegates from branches clf

d i f -

f e r e n t

s t r e n g t h s b u t each of

whom

e x e r c i s e d one

v o t e on ly .

Nonethel?s>

t h e

i t l a ~ o r l t y

ol'

t h e CourL h e l d t h a t a p l c b ~ s -

c i t e

r e q u ~ s l t l o n e , ?

by a t l o j s t t h ~ e e

t h e branches qav"

suf f l c i c n t

c o n t r o l .

I have had r q a r d t o t?ies? c a s e s h t I thlni;

!-he sc~' Lion

must be found i n t h e r.iles of

t h e union under can s i ~ l e r a t

ion.

I t i s t r u e t h a ?

t h e r e ~ ~ 1 1 1

he so1.11: 1 ~rcl,mstari:es i n wh1c.h

t h e w l l l of a ma;ori ty

may be thwark-ed l n betwc-cn elc>c-tions

b u t

e i n c c thel-a z r e c l f c t i o n s 5 y

s$cze:-

5 e l ; o t by

r an4

f l l e inemlwrs

t h e cnlon

t k L i s \ . ~ ~ u l , l

appe-lr t o h e -1 passlr,(r

phase on ly .

1s no n v e l - y

i n a d t n o c r a t 3 c s o c ~ e t y

t o

f i n d thai-

;-rl 11 of

a ma-jorlty

niy

nol:

p r c?\-s~ l

t w i n < ,

T o r

crample ,

t o t h e var;zrles

an ~ 1 c c t . o r i l

system h u t tl;e

f a c t

t h a t

t h l s mlq1-t

h,2pb>en h a s ;-:ot

lr>d r o 2

c ? l a : - ? c ~ e ~ ~ s a t l t ? n

such

s o c l e r y a s o t h e r

khc;ri

<.-~rn7c:l-.t~c. Looklr~? dt

t-he

whole p u r p s e c>f [-he o rgan izax lon and ~

accd t o fut,ct:o~-.

111 l t s c:.p.:c~ t y as , c$prc.-..enl

a t ~ v n

c l z s s of

~ rnp l@;~ee? .

I t h l n l ~ r e ~ ~ 1 . 1

t h a t r u l e 13;l

s u f f I c-3 c2r,rly

pro-7ldr.s cor~tr-01

a s

-4 1s glvcr, t o 1-31se lL,sue? d t lT.eetincs, l o organ1 ze sdp?3rl..

~ r i

?he rcq!~l.af.~cm

:.?:e.:

I # -

I ?

r ead

c o ~ - ] ~ l n c t l ( ~ n

wl th

t h e

o ! l ~ e i

r u i ~ : s o i

t'l:

> l g ; . n ~

z t t l sn.

I'.!lcn ?in C~P;CIÎ C

! I' t:'

t o have -~ie-e?

p l a c e d

b+:fore t h e

f e d a r a l

bod ie s

a t

s p e c l a l

neek lngs i f necessary

t h e s e cougle? w l C h

t h e pLwer

t.o

r e q u l r c

p l e b i s c i l e

s ? e m

t o ine

s u f f l c e .

(1) Rulc l l ( g ) l n l t s r,:glstered

form c?oes nol- csnform

wi th s.140.

IIobever

i n view o f

t h e f a c t t h a t i t

h a s

been

r e , ~ e a l e d

and

+-he r e p e z l

l o d g ~ d

f o r c e r t i f ~

c a t l o n

s t a n d

t h l s m a t t e r

over

g e n e r a l l y

w l t h

i e a v e

t o e l t h e r p a r t y	t o r e s t o r e i t	t o t h e	l l s t	o c 49	h o u r s
no! l c e .

( 2 )

A s t o t h e a p p l l c a t l o n undcr

s.141

I am

s 3 t l s f i e d t h a t

t h e

new

ru l l>s were

v ? l i d l y adopted.

( 3 )

op in lon t h a t r u l e s l l ( g ) and 1 6 ( 1 0 ) i n tile

form

a d 3 2 t l d by

t h e

slagan3 z a t l f > n dnd

nnr,,

lodged

f o r

certification

a r c c o t

i n d i scun fo rmi ty w i t h

s.149.

( 4 )

Gm of o p i n ~ o n

t h a t r ~ l e

13A and t i e r ~ l e s

g 6 , n ~ r s l l y

a r c

no t

i n , l i s c o c f o r n ~ ~ k y

w1:h

s .140

i n f a l l i n g t o

prnv-.de

f o r t he conlro:

o f ccnm~ittee;. o:

tl ie zsso . ;a--

i 101:

by t h e m~-,,nb:rs.

For

' i?~csc

r ea sons

d ~ s c h a r g e

t h e orsler i n m,ti e r V. 36 of

[1979] FCA 26

3 Apr 1979