Norris & Anor v Illawarra Nespaper Holdings Pty Limited

Gaudron and Hayne JJ heard an appeal from a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning the interpretation of section 116 of the *Broadcasting Services Act 1992* (Cth). The appellants, Norris and another, sought to restrain the respondent, Illawarra Newspaper Holdings Pty Limited, from broadcasting certain advertisements. The core of the dispute lay in whether the advertisements, which promoted a lottery, constituted a "broadcast" within the meaning of section 116, and if so, whether they were prohibited by that section.

The primary legal issue before the court was the proper construction of section 116 of the *Broadcasting Services Act 1992*, which prohibits the broadcasting of advertisements for "promotions of a kind that are, or are likely to be, gambling promotions". The court was required to determine whether the advertisements in question fell within this prohibition, considering the nature of the promotion and the medium through which it was disseminated.

The court reasoned that the advertisements were not prohibited by section 116. Their Honours held that the advertisements were not promotions of a kind that were, or were likely to be, gambling promotions. The advertisements were found to be promoting a lottery, which, while involving an element of chance, was not considered a "gambling promotion" in the context of the Act. The court's interpretation focused on the specific wording of the prohibition and the ordinary meaning of the terms used, concluding that the advertisements did not meet the threshold for prohibition under the section.