Minister for Planning v Walker (No 2)

The Minister for Planning (the appellant) and Walker (the respondent) were parties to proceedings concerning costs. The dispute revolved around whether the respondent, who had been successful in the primary proceedings, should be denied costs in the appeal. The matter was heard by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, comprising Hodgson JA, Campbell JA, and Bell JA.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether there were sufficient public interest considerations to justify departing from the usual rule that a successful party in litigation should be awarded their costs. Specifically, the court had to determine if the circumstances of the case warranted ordering that each party bear their own costs, despite the respondent's success.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that while public interest litigation can sometimes lead to a departure from the ordinary costs rule, additional factors beyond the mere existence of public interest are generally required to deny a successful party their costs. In this instance, the court found that no such additional factors were present that would justify depriving the respondent of their costs. Consequently, the court ordered that each party was to pay its own costs both at first instance and on appeal.