Keating v Dickson

The applicant, the State of New South Wales, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia concerning the validity of section 122A(4) of the *Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912* (NSW). The dispute centred on whether this legislative provision was a valid enactment.

The core legal issue before the Court was whether section 122A(4) of the *Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912* (NSW) was a valid law, particularly in light of provisions within the *Constitution Act 1902* (NSW). Specifically, the Court was required to consider the interplay between section 122A(4) and sections 7B(1), 7B(7), 29(1), and 29(2) of the *Constitution Act 1902* (NSW), and the Seventh Schedule to that Act.

The applicant argued that section 7B(1) of the *Constitution Act 1902* (NSW), which mandates that certain bills be approved by electors before Royal Assent, was not followed in relation to the provision in question. Furthermore, the applicant contended that section 7B(7) excluded laws of the nature referred to in section 29(2) from the operation of section 7B(1). Section 29(1) establishes that elections for the Legislative Assembly must be conducted according to the Seventh Schedule, while section 29(2) qualifies this by stating it does not limit the Legislature's power to make laws regarding the conduct of such elections, provided those laws are within the specified ambit. The applicant's submissions suggested that the procedure required by section 7B(1) was not followed, and that section 122A(4) was not excluded by section 7B(7).