R v Murray; ex parte Proctor

This case concerned an application for a writ of prohibition brought by the owners of the Burgowan No. 10 Colliery against the chairman and members of the Local Reference Board (Queensland) and the Queensland Colliery Employees' Union. The dispute arose from a decision of the Board on 7 December 1948, which ordered the reinstatement of dismissed employees and the resumption of work under pre-stoppage conditions. The applicants sought to prohibit further proceedings on this order, arguing it was invalid.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Local Reference Board had validly exercised its functions when making the order on 7 December 1948. This question hinged on two primary considerations: firstly, whether a quorum was present at the meeting, as required by regulation 13(2) of the National Security (Coal Mining Industry Employment) Regulations; and secondly, whether regulation 17, which purported to prevent any decision of a Local Reference Board from being challenged, appealed against, quashed, called into question, or subject to prohibition, precluded the Court from issuing a writ of prohibition.

The Court reasoned that regulation 13(2) made the presence of a quorum a necessary condition for the valid functioning of the Board. It was established that on 7 December 1948, only the chairman, Mr. Millar, and Mr. Tucker were present as employee representatives, with no employer representatives attending. Given the composition of the Board, this number did not constitute the required quorum. While regulation 17 sought to exclude judicial review, the Court held that such a provision could not override the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court under section 75(v) of the Constitution to issue writs of prohibition against officers of the Commonwealth. Therefore, as a quorum was not present, the Board lacked the authority to make a valid order, and prohibition would lie notwithstanding regulation 17.

Consequently, the order nisi for prohibition was made absolute against the respondents Murray, Millar, and Tucker, and the Queensland Colliery Employees' Union. No order was made against Mr. Caldwell, who had not acted as a member of the Board.