Port MacDonnell Professional Fishermen's Association Inc. & Anor v The State of South Australia

The plaintiffs, the Port MacDonnell Professional Fishermen's Association Inc. and another, brought proceedings in the High Court of Australia against the State of South Australia. The dispute concerned two arrangements, the first of which was made some time prior to the proceedings, and the second of which was introduced around the time the case was scheduled to be heard. The plaintiffs indicated that their primary aim was to resolve questions of constitutional principle, and that they were not seeking to pursue peripheral arguments that could be rectified through ordinary means.

The legal issues before the Court revolved around the constitutional validity of these arrangements, particularly the second arrangement which the plaintiffs contended addressed criticisms that could have been made of the first. While the first arrangement served as background, the core of the argument focused on the second arrangement and its implications. The plaintiffs intended to present the factual context of these arrangements before developing their constitutional arguments.