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HIGH COURT BULLETIN
Produced by the Legal Research Officer,

High Court of Australia Library

[2015] HCAB 8 (27 October 2015)

A record of recent High Court of Australia cases: decided, reserved for

judgment, awaiting hearing in the Court‟s original jurisdiction, granted

special leave to appeal, refused special leave to appeal and not

proceeding or vacated

1: Cases Handed Down ..................................... 3
2: Cases Reserved ............................................ 8
3: Original Jurisdiction .................................... 15
4: Special Leave Granted ................................. 17
5: Cases Not Proceeding or Vacated .................. 27
6: Special Leave Refused ................................. 28

SUMMARY OF NEW ENTRIES

1: Cases Handed Down

Case	Title
McCloy & Ors v State of New South Wales &
Constitutional Law
Anor Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited v Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd & Anor; Wright Prospecting
Contract
Pty Limited v Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited & Anor
Alcan Gove Pty Ltd v Zabic	Limitation of Actions
D‟Arcy v Myriad Genetics & Anor	Patents
PT Bayan Resources TBK v BCBC Singapore Pte
Procedure
Ltd & Ors
2: Cases Reserved
Case	Title
Plaintiff M68/2015 v Minister for Immigration
Constitutional Law
and Border Protection & Ors Commonwealth of Australia v Director, Fair
Procedure
Work Building Industry Inspectorate & Ors
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy
Union & Anor v Director, Fair Work Building	Procedure
Industry Inspectorate & Anor
Macoun v Commissioner of Taxation	Taxation
Allen v Chadwick	Torts
3: Original Jurisdiction
No new entries for October 2015.
4: Special Leave Granted
Case	Title
The Queen v GW	Criminal Law
Murdoch v The Queen	Criminal Law
Fischer & Ors v Nemeske Pty Ltd & Ors	Equity
Badenach & Anor v Calvert	Professions and Trades
Moreton Bay Regional Council v Mekpine Pty
Property Law
Ltd Robinson Helicopter Company Incorporated v
Torts
McDermott & Ors
Constitutional Law

McCloy & Ors v State of New South Wales & Anor

S211/2014: [2015] HCA 34.

Judgment delivered: 7 October 2015.

Coram: French CJ, Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle and Gordon JJ.

Catchwords:

Constitutional law – Implied freedom of communication on governmental and political matters – Provisions of Election Funding,
Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (NSW) impose cap on political donations, prohibit property developers from making such
donations, and restrict indirect campaign contributions – Whether
provisions impermissibly burden implied freedom of political
communication.
Words and phrases – "appropriate and adapted", "deference",
"implied freedom of communication on governmental and political
matters", "margin of appreciation", "proportionality".

Held: Questions answered.

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Contract

Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited v Wright Prospecting Pty Limited & Anor; Wright Prospecting Pty Limited v Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited & Anor

S102/2015; S99/2015: [2015] HCA 37.

Judgment delivered: 14 October 2015.

Coram: French CJ, Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle and Gordon JJ.

Catchwords:

1: Cases Handed Down

Contract – Construction of terms – Where contract concerned
acquisition of rights in relation to temporary reserves and payment
of royalties in respect of iron ore mined – Where royalty payable in respect of iron ore mined from "MBM area" – Whether "MBM area"…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2015] HCAB 8
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The High Court heard a number of appeals and applications for special leave to appeal in October 2015. McCloy & Ors v State of New South Wales & Anor concerned the constitutional validity of provisions in the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (NSW) that imposed a cap on political donations, prohibited property developers from making such donations, and restricted indirect campaign contributions. The Court held that these provisions were valid as they were not disproportionate to the legitimate aim of preventing undue influence of developers on political processes. Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited v Wright Prospecting Pty Limited & Anor involved a dispute over the interpretation of a contract relating to the acquisition of rights in relation to temporary reserves and payment of royalties for iron ore mined. The Court found that the term "MBM area" referred to the physical area of land rather than the rights in relation to that land. The Queen v Beckett dealt with the scope of the offence of perverting the course of justice under s 319 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The Court held that the offence only applies to conduct committed after judicial proceedings commence and that the "course of justice" within the meaning of s 319 requires jurisdiction of a court or competent judicial tribunal to have been invoked. These cases highlight the Court's role in resolving disputes and clarifying the scope of legal provisions in various areas of law, including constitutional law, contract law, and criminal law.

Orders