Gibson v The Minister for Finance, Natural Resources and the Arts

In Gibson v The Minister for Finance, Natural Resources and the Arts, the applicants sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent the Minister from appointing the second respondent as trustee of a deed of grant in land over Aboriginal lands in Hopevale. The applicants argued that the status quo should be preserved as the operations of the Hopevale Shire Council would be impeded by the appointment. Additionally, the applicants sought a stay of the Minister’s decision pending a judicial review. The second respondent, in turn, applied for summary dismissal of the application, asserting that there was no reasonable basis for the application and that it should not proceed.

The court considered whether the balance of convenience favoured the granting of the injunction and whether the applicant's rights to judicial review would be prejudiced if the injunction was not granted. The court also needed to determine whether the application for summary dismissal should be granted and if the stay of proceedings was warranted.

The court dismissed the application for summary dismissal, finding that a reasonable basis for the application existed. However, the court ultimately dismissed the application for an injunction and stay, determining that the balance of convenience did not favour the granting of the injunction. The court found that the applicants had not demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits to warrant the preservation of the status quo. The court also concluded that the stay of proceedings was not necessary, as the applicants' rights to judicial review would not be prejudiced by the Minister's decision proceeding.

The court made orders directing the parties to complete disclosure, inspection of documents, and the filing of affidavit material by specific dates. The application was listed for a hearing in the week commencing 20 February 2012, with further directions given regarding the filing of outlines of submissions and the liberty to apply for extensions.