The Honourable Marie May Bignold v Dickson

The Honourable Marie May Bignold, as applicant, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the validity of a referendum held under the New South Wales Constitution, specifically relating to proposed alterations to the Legislative Council. The respondents included the State of New South Wales and three Honourable members of the Court of Appeal.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the New South Wales Court of Appeal had erred in its interpretation of section 7A of the New South Wales Constitution Act. This section mandates that alterations to the Legislative Council's constitution must be submitted to electors by way of a referendum, with the day for the referendum to be appointed by the Governor. The applicant argued that the Constitution (Referendum) Act 1991 did not validly appoint a day for the referendum, but instead improperly delegated this power by linking it to the date of the next general election for the Legislative Assembly.

The applicant contended that the Court of Appeal's decision, which apparently upheld the validity of the referendum, was open to serious doubt and raised important constitutional questions. The applicant's argument focused on the precise wording of section 7A(3), which requires the Governor to "appoint" a day for the referendum. The applicant submitted that the 1991 Act did not appoint a specific day but rather established a formula that effectively allowed the Governor to delegate the appointment of the referendum date to a later decision concerning the general election. This, it was argued, was contrary to the constitutional requirement for a direct appointment by the Governor.