Gamester Pty Limited & Anor v His Honour Justice Lockhart

[1993] HCATrans 5

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry

Sydney No S65 of 1990

B e t w e e n -

GAMESTER PTY LIMITED and

BARBARA ANN CAMERON

Appellants

and

HIS HONOUR JUSTICE LOCKHART

Respondent

BRENNAN J
DEANE J

DAWSON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

Gamester 17 4/2/93

AT CANBERRA ON THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 1993. AT 11.33 AM

(Continued from 7/8/91)

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

BRENNAN J: Yes, Ms Cameron.

MS CAMERON: First I would like to apologize for the fact

that the Court has been interrupted in this

hearing.

BRENNAN J:  Would you stand in front of the microphone so

that what you say can be recorded please.

Thank you.

MS CAMERON:  We agreed to adjourn in good faith and I

believe Mr Horler offered to assist in good faith.

I notice in the transcript at page 15,

Mr Justice Brennan asked him to keep the Registrar

informed as to what he was doing about the matter

and I asked Mr Jones this morning if Mr Horler had

spoken with him and he said he had not. I have not

had any further conversations with Mr Horler about

this legal aid matter, although he did help us try

and find a solicitor to handle another matter, the

settlement of the whole case. He went overseas and

we did write him two letters saying that we - - -

BRENNAN J: Well, whatever the situation might be about

Mr Horler, you have to address now the question of

the appeal from Justice Gaudron, which is, of
course, related to the application for grant of

orders nisi directed to Justice Lockhart.

MS CAMERON:  Yes. Do you want these letters or not?

BRENNAN J:  They are not likely to assist us, I do not

think.

MS CAMERON:  All right, thank you. We do now have a

solicitor and a barrister. Mr David Bennett, who

has offered to help us, without payment, is
overseas until 21 February and our solicitor did

not come back from holiday until yesterday and he

said that he could not get here this morning.

It is 18 months since this matter was last

before the Court and we did not expect that we
would get a hearing so early in the year, but

rather than seek - well, we did ask for another

date, but we were told that we were to proceed this

morning, so I would ask the Court if the judgment

could be reserved and if we could have the
opportunity to file one more affidavit which we

will have Mr Bennett settle and a list of cases,

because I do not know what cases are applicable and

I have mentioned one and I am sure there are a lot.

BRENNAN J: This matter was listed, consequent upon a letter

from Gamester Pty Limited, seeking an urgent

listing.

Gamester 18 4/2/93

MS CAMERON:  Yes, I know that, but we did not know at that

time that Mr Bennett was away and that the

solicitor was going to go away at the end of

January.

·BRENNAN J: That may be so, but the Court responded to that

application and the matter was listed for today.

MS CAMERON:  Yes, I know. I know we have been pressing for

a hearing.

BRENNAN J: What is your application, Ms Cameron?

MS CAMERON:  I can say some more things about it because I

had not quite finished last time I addressed you,

but now that we do have help I am wondering if you

could reserve the judgment and if we could have the

benefit of one further affidavit which would

present the issues properly?

BRENNAN J: For this Court to adjourn the matter any

further, Ms Cameron, could conceivably occasion

some difficulty in the listing of the Court's

matters.

MS CAMERON:  I am not asking you to adjourn it, I am just

saying could we file a list of cases - I do not

know which cases are applicable - and could we have

one more affidavit or Mr Bennett might say it is

not necessary. You see, as I see it, it involves

complex issues of law which I have no hope of being

able to address you about them, and I think if he

could look at the judgment in the transcript and to

say what I want to say properly or say whether it

is relevant.

BRENNAN J: Is this your application: that the matter be

now reserved, with leave to the appellants to file

further material by a certain date and after that

date then the Court shall give judgment?

MS CAMERON: Yes, and I do not see that the Court need come

back. There are a few more things that -

BRENNAN J: Well, the Court is minded to accede to that

application, Ms Cameron.

MS CAMERON:  Thank you.

BRENNAN J: But now, let us make it quite clear. What date

are you suggesting should be the final date on

which documents may be filed in this Court.

MS CAMERON: Well, Mr Bennett does not come back until

25 February and I know he is always busy, but he is

also very quick. What do you think would be

reasonable; a month or - - -

Gamester 19 4/2/93

BRENNAN J: It is a matter for your application, Ms Cameron.

MS CAMERON: Well, could I say 21 March.

BRENNAN J:  Very well. The appellants will have leave to

supplement their present appeal by written

submissions made, to be lodged with the Registrar

on or before, but certainly no later than,

21 March 1993.

MS CAMERON:	Thank you very much, Your Honour.
BRENNAN J:	And the judgment is accordingly reserved until

that date or such later date as the Court may be

advised.

MS CAMERON:  Yes, and I think probably I do not - I do not

know whether I need to say what I was going to say,

but I think if we could leave it and I am sure

anything that is relevant could be said in that

affidavit.

BRENNAN J: Very well.

MS CAMERON:  Thank you very much for that. I appreciate it.

BRENNAN J: Very well.

AT 11.41 AM THE MATTER WAS ADJOURNED

TO A DATE TO BE FIXED

Gamester 20 4/2/93