In the matter of an Application for Inquiry concerning an Election by Miller, Desmond for an Office in the Amalgamated Metal Workers & Shipwrights Union (Victoria)

[1978] FCA 52

. ..

I

i

.!	IN THE FEDERAL	COURT OF' AUSTRALIA	V No. 9' of 1978
1

d	INDUSTRIATi DIVISION
1	VICTORIAN REGISTRY
i

IN THE MATTER of an Application for Desiond-Mlller for an offlce in tge Inquiry concernins an Election bv -

Amalgamated Metal Workers .s

Shipwrights Union (Victoria]

Industrial Law - Election inquiry -

Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 s.165(3) Interpretation of rules of an organization -

i

I

i

11J THE FEDERAL COURT OF

AUSTRALIA

-

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION

VICTORIAN REGISTRY

I N THE MATTER o f an A p p l i c a t i o n f o r

Inqui ry con 'cernmg an E lec t lon by

Desmond Mlller f o r a n o f f i c e i n t h e

Amalgamated Metal Workers &

Shlpvxlqhts Union [Victoria)

NORTHROP J. REASONS FOR JUDG!lENT ' 3RD J U L Y 1978

On 22nd May 1978, immedia te ly fo l lowing the hear ing of

t h l s i n q u i r y , t h e C o u r t made t h e f o l i o w l n q o r d e r b u t r e s e r v e d i t s

reasons	for	judgment :
"1. - THAT t h e r e j e c t i o n by t h e S ta te Returning

Officer of t h e Union of the nomlnat lon of t h e

A p p l i c a n t f o r election as Organlser Dlv i s lon

No. 1 3 vas void.

2 . - THAT t h e p u r p o r t e d electlon o f James O ' N e l l l t o

t h e o f f l c e o f O r g a n i s e r D l v l s l o n No. 1 3 1s

ineffect ive a n d t h e s a l d Janes O ' N e i l l h a s n o t

been e l ec t ed t o t h a t o f f i c e .

3. - THAT t h e S c a t e R e t u r n i n g Officer o f t h e Unlon

accep t t he nomina t lon of the App l i can t and

conduct an e l e c t i o n f o r t h e s a i d o f f l c e o f

Organiser D lv l s lon No. 1 3 p u r s u a n t t o t h e R u l e s

o f t h e O r g a n i s a t i o n a t t h e ear l les t p r a c t i c a b l e

d a t e , t h e c a n d i d a t e s 111 t h e s a i d e l e c t l o n b z m g

the Appl ica-n t and the sa ld James O ' N e l l l .

4 . - THAT f o r t h e p u r p o s e s of t h e s a i d e l e c t i o n :-

( a ) an a d v e r t ~ ~ e r n e n t b e i n s e r t e d m t h e "Sun" i

Newspaper between Saturday, the 27th May

1978 and Wednesday, 31st ?lay 1978 by t h e

S ta t e Returning O f f i c e r o f t h e Unlon

s t a t i n g t h a t h e m11 conduct a b a l l o t fo r

t h e o f f l c e of Organlser Dlv is ion No. 1 3

i n acco rdance vn th t he Ru les o f t he Union

and g lv inq a l l n e c e s s a r y p a r t i c u l a r s ,

i n c l u d i n g p a r t i c u l a r s o f t h e e l l g i b l l l t y

of members t o v o t e , t h e times and da t e s

and p l aces o f vo t ing , and t he p rocedures

f o r r e c o r d m q a p o s t a l vote,

(b) t h e S t a t e R c t u r n i D q O f f l c e r o f t h e Unlon l

s h a l l c o n d u c t t h e e l e c t i o n so t h a t it

sha l l be comple t ed no t l a t e r than F r lday ,

t h e 1 4 t h d a y o f J u l y 1978 . i

. / 2 . . . I

\ '

5.	-	THAT
s a d o f f l c e p u r s u a n t t o t h e b a l l o t s h a l l

t h e c a n d l d a t e d e c l a r e d elected t o t h e

take o f f l c e from the date on whlch t h e r e s u l t

o f t h e e l e c t l o n 1s d e c l a r e d .

6 .	THAT	t h e	s a i d	J a m e s	O ' N e i l l now	h o l d l n g	t h e
-

office of Organlser Div is ion No. 1 3 s h a l l

c o n t i n u e t o h o l d off ice u n t l l h l s s u c c e s s o r 1s

d e c l a r e d e l e c t e d p u r s u a n t t o t h l s Order."

I

The Court nor7 p u b l i s h e s i t s r e a s o n s f o r ~ u d g m e n t f o r t h a t o r d e r .

Th i s vas a n e l e c t i o n i n q u i r y u n d e r Pa r t I X of t h e

C o n c l h a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n A c t 1 9 0 4 ( t h e A c t ) r e f e r r e d t o t h e

Cour t by t h e I n d u s t r l a l Registrar r e l a t i n g t o t h e e l e c t l o n t o t h e

o f f i c e o f O r g a n l s e r D i v i s l o n No. 1 3 o f t h e Amalgamated Metal Workers

& ShLpwrights Unlon (the A.M.W.S.U.), an o ryanisa t lon of employees .

In December 1 9 7 7 Desmond Miller ( t h e a p p l i c a n t ) a c c e p t e d n o m i n a t l o n

as a c a n d l d a t e f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g t h r e e o f f l c e s w i t h i n t h e V l c t o r l a

Brmch of	t h e A.M.W.S.U.:
1. Organiser Dlv ls lon No. 1 3
2 . Delegate t o State Councl l Zone 1 5
3 . Delegate t o S ta t e Confe rence Zone 15

Pursuant t o the Rules of t h e A.I4.W.S.U., t h e o f f l c e o f O r g a n l s e r

D lv i s ion N o . 13 i s a f u l l - t i m e o f f l c e , b u t t h e h o l d e r i s n o t

a u t o m a t l c a l l y a member of a committee of management o f t h e A.M.W.S.U.

o r o f a b r a n c h t h e r e o f . N e l t h e r t h e o f f i c e o f Delegate t o S ta te

Councll Zone 15 n o r t h e o f f i c e o f D e l e g a t e t o S ta t e Confe rence

! Zone 15 is a f u l l - t i m e o f f i c e p u r s u a n t t o t h e R u l e s of t h e A.M.W.S.U.

b u t a msmber	elected t o e i t h e r	o	f	t h o s e	o f f i c e s	becomes	a	member	of	I
!

a committee of management of a b ranch o f t he A.M.W.S.U.

I

P a r t of Rule 2 ( 1 2 ) o f t h e R u l e s o f t h e A.M.W.S.U. r eads :

" I n a l l e l e c t i o n s f o r f u l l - t i m e o f f l c e u n d e r t h e s e

r u l e s n o c a n d l d a t e s h a l l b e permitted t o a c c e p t

nominat ion for more than one o f such of f lce where

the per lod of such are concur ren t . "

Par t of Rule 31(1) of the Ru les r eads :

i

. /3 . . . !

., - 3 -

" Any f i n a n c i a l mcmber o f a Branch i n the Zone

may nomlnate any o t h e r q u a l l f l e d member,

provided however- Lha L no f u l l - L i m e of f l c l a l

s h a l l b e e n t l t l e d t o b e nominated a s

r e p r e s e n t a t l v e of Branches o r t h e S t a t e

Conference and/or State Counci l ."

The a p p l i c a n t was a f i n a n c i a l member o i t h e A.?l.N.S.U.

a n d , p u r s u a n t t o t h e R u l e s , was qualif7.cd t o a c c e p t n o m l n a t i o n f o r

e a c h o f t h e t h r e e o f f i c e s .	He	was	n o t	a	f u l l - t i m e	ofEicial	o f t h e
A.M.W.S.U.

For many y e a r s t h e A.M.N. S . U . h a s a c c e p t e d t h e p o l i c y

t h a t it is u n d e s i r a b l e t h a t p a i d f u l l - t l m e o f f i c i a l s s h o u l d be

a b l e t o c o n s t i t u t e a m a ~ o r i t y o n c o r m l t t e e s o f management w l t h i n

t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n . The extract from Rule 31(1) set out above i s an

example of t h a t p o l l c y , t h e p r o v i s o however i s l i m l t e d . It a p p l i e s

t o p r e v e n t f u l l - t i m e o f f i c i a l s from a c c e p t i n g n o m l n a t l o n f o r e l e c t i o n

t o t h e o f f i c e s s p e c l f i e d . It does no t apply t o p reven t a member

o t h e r w i s e e l i g i b l e and n o t b e i n g a f u l l - t i m e o f f i c l a l f r o m a c c e p t i n g

nomlnation as a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of brFnches on the State Confe ' rence

and /o r S t a t e Counc i l a s well as accept ing nominat ion as a f u l l - t l m e

o.Eficia1. T h e extract from Rule 2 ( 1 2 ) i s a n i l l u s t r a t l o n o f a r u l e

which, as a matter of pol lcy , would p revent a member otherwise

e l i g i b l e f r o m a c c e p t m g u o m l n a t i o n f o r two o r more o f f l c e s w h e r e t h e

p e r i o d of o f f i c e is concur ren t .

On receipt o f t h e t h r e e a c c e p t a n c e s of nominatlon from

t h e a p p l i c a n t , t h e R e t u r n i n g Officer, r e l y i n g upon t h e p o l i c y of t h e

A . X . W . S . U . , by l e t t e r n o t i f i e d t h e a p p l l c a n t as fo l lows:

" I w i s h t o s ta te t h a t I have checked t i n s r u l i n g

today and wish to	draw	to	y o u r a t t e n t i o n t h a t	you
can on ly s t and fo r : -

(A) Delegate to State Counci l Zone 15 and

Delegate t o State Conference Zone 15;

o r

(B) Organlser Dlv ls lon No. 13.

I would a l s o p o i n t o u t t h a t i n t h e e v e n t of f a i l u r e

t o s t l p u l a t e e i t h e r (A) o r (B) as above, I m11 ha~7e

no a l t e r n a t l v e t h a n r u l e y o u r a c c e p t a n c e s o f

nomina t ion ou t o f o rde r . "

i

I I

./4.. .

!

- 4 -

I n suppor t o f this r u l i n g , t h e R e t u r n l n g Officer e n c l o s e d \ n t h

t h e l e t t e r a copy of the r e l e v a n t extract LLrom t h e J u n e 1 9 7 4 l s s u e

of t h e A.14.X.S.U. J o u r n a l , The extract was m a Corm similar to

t h a t p u b l l s h e d from tlme t o time over a p e r i o d of years and was

as fol lows:

ELIGIBILITY TO ACCEPT NOI~iII'JATION FOR MORE

THAN ONE POSITION

T h i s p a r t l c u l a r q u e s t l o n f a l l s i n t o t h r e e categorles -

1.	Concur rency	o	f	o f f i ce	fo r	more	t han	one	fu l l - t ime
p o s l t l o n .

2.	Concurrency of off lce for more than	one	par t - t ime
p o s l t l o n .

3 . Concurrency of o f f i c e f o r f u l l and par t - t lme

p o s i t i o n s . -

Regarding (1) Rule 2 , Clause 1 2 p r e s c r l b e s " I n a l l

e l e c t i o n s f o r f u l l - t i m e of f lce under these rules no

c a n d i d a t e s h a l l b e p e r m i t t e d t o a c c e p t n o m l n a t i o n f o r

more than one s u c h o f f i c e w h e r e t h e p e r i o d for such

are concurren t" .

Rule 2 , Clause 9 p r e s c r i b e s t h e following as f u l l -

tlme pos i t i ons : -

Commonwealth P res lden t and Commonwealth S e c r e t a r l e s

and A s s t . Commonwealth S e c r e t a r y , Commonrrealth

O r g a n l s e r s , S t a t e a n d A s s t . S ta te S e c r e t a r l e s , S t a t e

Presldent /Organiser and S ta te Organ l se r s .

Regarding ( 2 ) it has been determlned by Commonwealth

Counc i l t ha t dua l n smina t ions canno t be accep ted fo r

. p o s l t l o n s of B r a n c h o f f l c e o r d e l e g a t e t o S t a t e

Counc l l o r S t a t e Confe rence o r any o the r pa r t - t lme

p o s l t l o n s w h e r e t h e e l e c t l o n to any one p o s i t l o n would

p r o h l b l t t h e c a r r y m g o u t o f d u t i e s o f a n o t h e r . Under

t h i s r u l l n g , € o r e x a m p l e , members are n o t e l l g l b l e t o

s t and fo r t he Branch o f f l ce pos i t i ons o f P re s1den .c

and Secre ta ry , o r Pres ldent and Mlnute Secre ta ry .

D e a l l n g w i t h p o s i t i o n s a t S t a t e level for example,

members v o u l d b e e l i g i b l e t o s t a n d f o r b o t h p o s l t l o n s

o f State Counc l l and S t a t e Confe recce de l ega te s o r !

where it l n v o l v e s t h e p o s i t l o n s o f State Council and/

o r S ta te C o n f e r e n c e d e l e g a t e a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e t o

Commonwealth Councl l , members w o u l d b e e l l g i b l e t o

s t a n d f o r t h r e e p o s i t i o n s .

Regardmg ( 3 ) t h e p r i n c i p l e a d o p t e d by Commonwealth

C o u n c l l a s i n ( 2 ) p r e v a l l s , 1.c. where e l ec t ion t o

a n y o n e p o s l t l o n w o u l d p r o h l b l t t h e c a r r y i n g o u t o f

d u t i e s	a n o t h e r	o f	p o s l t l o n	members	are	e l i g i b l e	t o	I
I

s t and fo r on ly one o f t hese . Fo r example , a f u l l - t i m e

o f f i c i a l can1;ot s t a n d f o r Zone r e p r e s e n t a t l v e t o S t a t e i

Counci l or Conference. "

. / 5 . . . ~

- 5 -

The a p p l l c a n t n o t i f i e d t h e R e t u r n i n g Officer t h a t he

wlshed t o p r o c e e d ~71 th t h e nomlnation f o r S t a t c Collfcrence and

S t a t e C o u n c i l b u t s t a t e d h e d i s a g r e e d w i t h t h e r u l i n g of t h e

R e t u r n i n g O f f i c e r a n d r e s e r v e d h i s r i g h t s i n r e g a r d t o t h e

nominat lon for S ta te O r g a n l s e r . I n t h e r e s u l t , t h e R e t u r n i n g

O f f i c e r r e ~ e c t e d t h e n o m l n a t i o n by t h e a p p l l c a t i o n for t h e o f f i c e

of Organiser Div is lon No. 1 3 a n d d e c l a r e d t h e o n l y o t h e r c a n d i d a t e ,

James O ' N e l l l , duly e l e c t e d .

I n c o n d u c t i n g an e l e c t i o n , t h e R e t u r n i n g Officer i s

r e q u i r e d t o comply wi th the Rules o f the A.M.W.S.U. If he f a l l s

t o comply with those Rules , or i f he 1s i n b r e a c h o f t h o s e R u l e s ,

a n i r r e g u l a r l t y o c c u r s , s.165(3) o f t h e A c t and t h e d e f l n i t i o n o f

t h e word " n r e g u l a r i t y " c o n t a l n e d i n S. 4 of t h e A c t . The Rules of

t h e A.M.W.S.U. do n o t p r e v e n t a member n o t b e i n g a f u l l - t i m e

o f f i c i a l b u t o t h e r w i s e e l i g i b l e t o a c c e p t n o m l n a t l o n from being a

c a n d l d a t e f o r t h e t h r e e offlces for wh ich t he app l l can t accep ted

nomination. The p o l l c y o f t h e A.M.W.S.U. c a n n o t o v e r r u l e t h e

p rov i s ions o f t he Ru les . Accord ing ly I f o u n d t h a t a n l r r e g u l a r l t y

had occurred and t h a t t h e r e s u l t of t h e e l e c t i o n may have been

a f f e c t e d by t h a t I r r e g u l a r i t y .

, Dated: S e d 7 2 /97z

lu

!