Fairfield City Council v Bryant

Local Court of New South Wales

CITATION:	Fairfield City Council v Bryant [2007] NSWLC 11
JURISDICTION:	Criminal
PARTIES:	Fairfield City Council Joseph Richard Bryant
FILE NUMBER:
PLACE OF HEARING:	Bankstown Local Court
DATE OF DECISION:	03/21/2007
MAGISTRATE:	Magistrate G Blewitt
CATCHWORDS:	Freedom of speech/expression - Constitutional challenge
LEGISLATION CITED:	Judiciary Act 1903, Section 78B Local Government Act, 1993, Section 632
CASES CITED:	Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997) 189 CLR 520; (1997) 145 ALR 96 Australian Capital Television Pty. Limited and others and The State of New South Wales v. The Commonwealth of Australia and another (1992) 177 CLR 106 Mulholland v Australian Electoral Commission (2004) 209 ALR 582. Coleman v Sellers - (2000) 181 ALR 120 Coleman v Power - (2004) 209 ALR 182
REPRESENTATION:	Mr Thompson for Fairfield City Council Ms Georgina Wright, Crown Solicitor’s Office for the Attorney General of NSW Mr Bryant (defendant) unrepresented
ORDERS:	No infringement of constitutional rights, case proved beyond reasonable doubt.

JUDGMENT

1. The defendant has pleaded not guilty in respect of three Court Attendance Notices which were issued in connection with of three separate parking offences and by consent the matters were heard together.

2. At the commencement of the hearing on 16 November 2006 the defendant challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matters, his contention being that the actions of Fairfield City Council in issuing the infringement notices had breached his constitutional right of freedom of speech.

3. After an inquiry, when I sought some contextual information to understand the defendant’s initial submission, the parties agreed, on the basis that the defendant was not contesting the facts, that the prosecution would tender the documents being relied upon to prove its case, and the defendant would make oral submissions. Before dealing with the defendant’s submission, it is helpful to set out the background and the undisputed facts.

Background and undisputed evidence

4. It appears the defendant was a candidate in elections being held within the National Roads and Motorists Association (NRMA) in October 2005. In this regard the defendant was responsible for a political advertising hoarding being erected on an “A” frame fitted to a trailer, registered number N81286. It is alleged that on three occasions during October 2005 this trailer was illegally parked at various locations within the control of Fairfield City Council (FCC).

5. The advertising hording on the trailer displayed the following words on one side of the trailer:

“Win $43000 Subaru, Rescue your NRMA, Vote 1 Joe Bryant,
Vote early October,
and the words:
“ 1 Joe Bryant, vote against – high fuel prices – motorist used as tax cow – toll roads etc. etc.
Vote early October. Vote NRMA October. Win $43,000 Subaru”
on the other side of the trailer.
At the rear end of the trailer the words “Vote October. Win $43000 Subaru. appeared.

6. The uncontested evidence establishes that in the first instance the trailer was parked in a FCC reserve at the corner of Wetherill Street and The Horsley Drive, Wetherill…