Southern Cross Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd v Kenneth Comninos Michael Western Australian Independent Gas Pipelines Access Regulator

The matter before the court was an application by WMC Resources Ltd to be joined as a defendant in proceedings between Southern Cross Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd and others and the Western Australian Independent Gas Pipelines Access Regulator. The plaintiffs in the original action sought a number of declarations concerning the validity of a draft decision by the Regulator concerning the determination of reference tariffs for gas access under the Gas Pipelines Access (Western Australia) Act 1998. WMC Resources Ltd sought to be joined on the basis that it was a party to a gas transmission agreement with one of the plaintiffs, Southern Cross Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd, and that it had an interest in the outcome of the proceedings as the proposed reference tariffs, if applied, would have a flow-on effect to the tariffs payable by WMC Resources Ltd under the gas transmission agreement. The court considered the principles applicable to an application to join a party under O 18 r 6(2) of the Rules of the Supreme Court and the authority of Homestyle Pty Ltd v City of Belmont [1999] WASCA 59. The court found that the proposed tariffs would not affect the rights of WMC Resources Ltd unless they applied to the plaintiffs under the Goldfields Gas Pipeline Agreement, and that even if they did apply, the effect would be to be determined by the terms of the gas transmission agreement. The court found that the interests of WMC Resources Ltd were not sufficient to require its joinder in the proceedings, and dismissed the application.