Duncan v State of Queensland

The parties to this case were Laura Duncan and Fitzroy Clarence Trotman, as trustees of the will of William Duncan, deceased, and Laura Duncan individually, against the State of Queensland and John McEwan Hunter, the Minister for the Crown discharging the duties of Chief Secretary of Queensland. The dispute concerned the alleged unlawful interference by the Queensland government with the plaintiffs' ability to sell and move their cattle from Queensland to South Australia. The case was heard in the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was the validity of the Queensland Meat Supply for Imperial Uses Act 1914, specifically sections 4, 6, and 7, and whether these provisions contravened section 92 of the Australian Constitution, which guarantees that "trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States... shall be absolutely free." The plaintiffs argued that the Act prohibited them from engaging in inter-State trade, thereby violating section 92.

A majority of the High Court (Griffith C.J., Higgins, Gavan Duffy, Powers, and Rich JJ.) held that the Meat Supply for Imperial Uses Act 1914 was intra vires the Queensland Parliament and did not violate section 92 of the Constitution. The Court reasoned that while the Act restricted the owner's rights to sell or remove their commodities, this deprivation was a step towards the ultimate object of securing meat supplies for the Imperial Government during wartime. The majority found that such a restriction, aimed at a legitimate governmental purpose facilitated by the deprivation, did not necessarily violate the freedom guaranteed by section 92, and that any effect on inter-State trade was incidental. Barton and Isaacs JJ. dissented, finding that the legislation, by declaring the stock and meat subject to the Act and prohibiting their disposal except under government direction, effectively made them inalienable and thus contravened section 92.