Cameron v Beattie - [2001] QCA 392

[2001] QCA 392

COURT OF APPEAL

THOMAS JA
WILLIAMS JA
DOUGLAS J

Appeal No 3632 of 2001

DONALD GORDON CAMERON Plaintiff

and

PETER D BEATTIE
(IN HIS CAPACITY AS PREMIER) First Defendant

and

DESMOND J O'SHEA ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER Second Defendant

and

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR QUEENSLAND Third Defendant

BRISBANE

..DATE 19/09/2001

JUDGMENT

THOMAS JA: There are two matters before the Court. One is an appeal in which the appellant is Donald Gordon Cameron and the respondents are the Premier of Queensland, the former Electoral Commissioner of Queensland and the Attorney-General for Queensland. The other matter is an application by those respondents under section 17 of the Vexatious Litigants' Act 1981 to set aside the action and the appeal.

The Court directed that that application be heard before considering the appeal. However, I shall first identify what the appeal is about.

For reasons that will become apparent I shall refer to the appellant by his full name Donald Gordon Cameron. He brought an action in the Supreme Court for declaratory relief, including a declaration that the latest State election was invalid. His statement of claim was summarily dismissed by Justice Philippides on 5 April 2001 under Uniform Civil Procedure Rule 293. The order was that his claim be dismissed and that he pay costs to be assessed.

The relief sought in the action was a recount of votes excluding certain types of ballot papers, a declaration that the election was invalid, a declaration that the members of the Government are disqualified, a declaration that the Queen of Australia is a corporation sole and that the Governor General holds certain powers in the absence from Australia of the person of Her Majesty, and various consequential and related declarations. The alleged foundation for such relief seems to have been based upon a submission that there is no such person as the Queen of Australia.

I turn to the application brought by the respondents for a declaration that the plaintiff is acting in concert with a declared vexatious litigant, one Donald Cameron, and for the setting aside of the proceedings, both in the trial division and here.

In order to understand the submissions it will be necessary to say something concerning a group of persons apparently involved in the litigation. The group includes the appellant Donald Gordon Cameron, Donald Cameron (who was formerly Donald James Cameron), and Alan Vincent Smith. They have chosen to call themselves the Independent Sovereign State of Australia - ISSA.

Donald Gordon Cameron claims to be a high office bearer (Attorney-General/Treasurer in ISSA) and Donald Cameron claims to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Sovereign State of Australia. On 5 March 1996 one Donald James Cameron was declared to be a vexatious litigant. He changed his name by deed poll to Donald Cameron pursuant to a deed which was filed on 29 January 1997. He is one and the same as the Donald Cameron who is an associate of Donald Gordon Cameron to whom I have just…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Cameron v Beattie

Details

AGLC: Cameron v Beattie [2001] QCA 392
Case: [2001] QCA 392
Decision Date: 19 September 2001

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Cameron v Beattie, the plaintiff, Donald Gordon Cameron, sought various declarations and a recount of votes in relation to the latest State election in Queensland. The defendants included the Premier of Queensland, the Electoral Commissioner, and the Attorney-General for Queensland. The court had to determine whether the plaintiff's claims were valid and if the defendants' application under the Vexatious Litigants' Act 1981 to set aside the proceedings should be granted.

The court considered whether the plaintiff's claims were based on a valid legal foundation. The court found that the plaintiff's claims were nonsensical, unintelligible, illogical, and fantastical, and did not give rise to any matter under the Constitution. The court also examined the defendants' application to set aside the proceedings under the Vexatious Litigants' Act 1981. The court found that the plaintiff was acting in concert with a declared vexatious litigant, Donald Cameron, and that the defendants were entitled to the relief sought.

The Court of Appeal made orders under section 17 of the Vexatious Litigants' Act 1981 declaring that Donald Gordon Cameron was acting in concert with Donald Cameron, setting aside the claim and statement of claim in the Supreme Court proceedings, setting aside the notice of appeal, and ordering the appellant and Donald Cameron to pay the applicants' costs of the section 17 application to be assessed. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the trial judge to dismiss the plaintiff's claim and agreed with the orders proposed by the other two judges.

Orders