Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd v Cooper

Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd sought a writ of prohibition to prevent a coronial inquest into the death of a mine worker from proceeding. The inquest was to be held under the Coroners Act 1995. The mine operator argued that the coroner had failed to observe procedural fairness by proposing to admit an expert report without the author being called to give evidence. The Supreme Court of Tasmania was tasked with determining whether the coroner's proposed course of action constituted a failure to observe procedural fairness and whether the mine operator was entitled to the relief sought.

The court had to decide whether the coroner was bound by the common law rules governing the admissibility of expert evidence in proceedings before determining if there had been a failure to observe procedural fairness. The court considered whether the coroner was required to call the author of an expert report to give evidence and if the coroner's failure to do so amounted to a denial of procedural fairness.

The court found that the coroner was not bound by the common law rules of evidence, including those relating to expert evidence, and was entitled to conduct the inquest in any manner deemed reasonable. The court held that the coroner was not required to call the author of the expert report to give evidence and that the coroner's decision to admit the report without the author being called did not amount to a failure to observe procedural fairness. Therefore, the court refused the mine operator's application for a writ of prohibition.

The court dismissed the mine operator's application for a writ of prohibition and ordered that the application be dismissed with costs.