Mabo & Ors v The State of Queensland

The parties to this proceeding were the plaintiffs, Mabo and others, who brought the action on their own behalf and on behalf of their respective communities, and the defendant, the State of Queensland. The dispute concerned the determination of costs following proceedings in the High Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the defendant should be ordered to pay the plaintiffs' costs of the proceedings in the High Court, including the costs of issues remitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland, and the appropriate timeframe for parties to file written submissions regarding these costs.

The Court indicated its inclination to order the defendant to pay the plaintiffs' costs. However, before making this order, the Court sought submissions from the parties. The defendant sought a direction for the parties to file written submissions on costs, and the plaintiffs requested a delay in filing their submissions to allow their legal representative to return from overseas and assist in their compilation. The Court ultimately directed that the defendant file and serve written submissions within 14 days, and the plaintiffs would have a further two and a half months to respond.