Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd v National Competition Council

In the case of Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd v National Competition Council, the applicant sought an order that the respondents were precluded from making any recommendation to the Minister that would declare the Hamersley Rail Track Service as a national electricity service. The respondents, including the National Competition Council and Transpower International Pty Ltd, opposed the application, arguing that the applicant's undertakings to the Full Court of the Federal Court did not prevent them from making such a recommendation. The legal issue before the court was whether the undertakings given by the applicant precluded the respondents from making a recommendation to the Minister concerning the Hamersley Rail Track Service. The court held that the undertakings were specifically linked to any application made under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act by Hope Downs or any of its related corporations and had no wider application. Therefore, the application was dismissed. The court also ordered that each party, if so advised, file and serve short submissions regarding costs on or before a specified date. If no submissions were filed, the applicant would be ordered to pay the respondents’ costs, to be taxed in default of agreement.