NAIA v MIMIA

[2004] HCATrans 357

[2004] HCATrans 357

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S581 of 2003

B e t w e e n -

NAIA

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

GLEESON CJ
McHUGH J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT SYDNEY ON TUESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2004, AT 2.05 PM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

NAIA appeared in person.

MR S.B. LLOYD:   I appear for the respondent, your Honours.  (instructed by Clayton Utz)

IQBAL HYE CHOWDHURY, affirmed as interpreter:

GLEESON CJ:   Yes, go ahead.

NAIA (through interpreter):   I made an application on Sunday.  I am not ready for hearing.  My head is not working.  The doctor advised me to be in rest.  I did not want to come but somebody scared me.  Somebody told me that if you do not appear tomorrow your case is going to be dismissed, so I was in panic, because my brain is not working right now.  The doctor has been treating me for a long time.  I have gone through the CT scan and I am supposed to do an MRI on 25^th and I have furnished a document to that effect.

GLEESON CJ:   Are you asking for an adjournment?

NAIA (through interpreter):   Yes.

GLEESON CJ:   Until when?

NAIA (through interpreter):   I have mentioned for two weeks in my application.

GLEESON CJ:   What is your attitude, Mr Lloyd?

MR LLOYD:   It is opposed by the Minister, your Honour.

GLEESON CJ:   Yes, you will have to explain to us.  Is there anything further you want to say as to why we should adjourn the matter?

NAIA (through interpreter):   I have to prepare myself, so I am not feeling well at this stage.

GLEESON CJ:   Is there any evidence you want to put before the Court in support of your application for adjournment?

NAIA (through interpreter):   I do not have it with me but whatever I was supposed to give I have already given.

GLEESON CJ:   We have already looked at the material that you sent to the Registrar and we will receive that as an exhibit and your correspondence with the Registrar will be marked exhibit 1.

EXHIBIT 1:          Applicant’s correspondence with the Registrar

GLEESON CJ:   Is there any other evidence?

NAIA (through interpreter):   No.

GLEESON CJ:   Is there anything else you want to say in support of the application for adjournment?

NAIA (through interpreter):   What else I could do?

GLEESON CJ:   Having regard to the material that is contained in exhibit 1 and to the information and submissions put before the Court by the applicant, the Court is of the view that the application for adjournment should not be granted.  Go ahead with your application.

NAIA (through interpreter):   If a person dies and their brain does not work, what else I can do?

GLEESON CJ:   Is there anything you want to put before us in support of your application?

NAIA (through interpreter):   No.  The Federal Court did not conduct my case properly so I am praying that it should be…..to the Federal Court.  That is all.

GLEESON CJ:   Take a seat, thank you.  We do not need to hear you, Mr Lloyd.

This is an application for special leave to appeal against a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court given on 7 November 2003.  The Court is of the view that there are insufficient prospects of success of an appeal to warrant a grant of special leave and the application is refused with costs.

AT 2.11 PM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED