Campbell v The Queen- Harper v The Queen

In *Campbell v The Queen* and *Harper v The Queen*, the High Court of Australia considered appeals against convictions for conspiracy to import a prohibited substance. The central issue in both appeals concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained through the use of listening devices, specifically whether such evidence was rendered inadmissible by the provisions of the *Listening Devices Act 1984* (NSW) or by the common law. The applicants argued that the evidence, obtained pursuant to warrants issued under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth), was unlawfully obtained and therefore inadmissible.

The High Court was required to determine whether the *Listening Devices Act 1984* (NSW) applied to federal investigations conducted under federal legislation, and if so, whether the warrants issued under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) were validly issued in accordance with the requirements of the NSW Act. Further, the Court had to consider whether, even if the evidence was unlawfully obtained, it should nonetheless be admitted under the common law discretion to admit such evidence, balancing the public interest in the administration of justice against the public interest in the protection of individual rights.

The Court held that the *Listening Devices Act 1984* (NSW) did not apply to the use of listening devices by federal police in New South Wales. Their Honours reasoned that the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) provided a comprehensive scheme for the use of listening devices by federal law enforcement officers, and that the NSW Act was not intended to, nor did it, override this federal scheme. Consequently, the warrants issued under the federal Act were valid, and the evidence obtained was lawfully obtained. The common law discretion to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence was therefore not enlivened.

The appeals were dismissed.