WAFH v MIMIA

[2004] HCATrans 428

[2004] HCATrans 428

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Perth  No P13 of 2003

B e t w e e n -

WAFH

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

GUMMOW J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT PERTH ON THURSDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2004, AT 11.43 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

MR J.D. ALLANSON:   If your Honours please, I appear for the Minister.  (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)

MR P. SHEINER:   I seek leave to appear in the following circumstances.  Counsel were briefed to appear as of yesterday morning but indicated he could no longer appear.  I subsequently checked the roll and found that I am not, in fact, on the roll of practitioners for the High Court albeit that I practice in this State.  (instructed by Christensen Legal)

GUMMOW J:   Yes.  Well, you had better attend to that.  What is the attitude of the Minister, Mr Allanson?

MR ALLANSON:   If your Honours please, the Minister opposes the adjournment.

GUMMOW J:   The problem is that if the applicant now has counsel, the Court might be favoured by a professionally drawn statement of the applicant’s case. 

MR ALLANSON:   We certainly have to accept, your Honour, that at the moment there is, in effect, no case put before the Court.

GUMMOW J:   At the moment it does not look a particularly strong case but it may look stronger when professional minds are brought to bear on it in the usual way.

MR ALLANSON:   Well, that is the difficulty with the application for the adjournment, your Honour, because we do not have anything now before the Court to indicate that it has been viewed and that there is a point in there.

GUMMOW J:   Yes.  The Court is taking matters by video from Perth on 12 November which is not far away.

MR ALLANSON:   I was aware of that, your Honour.  I was going to say there is a second aspect to the application and that is that ‑ ‑ ‑

GUMMOW J:   It needs an extension of time anyway.

MR ALLANSON:   And they were also seeking to move it to Melbourne.

GUMMOW J:   Yes.  Well, I will hear what is said about that.

MR ALLANSON:   With regard to 12 November, your Honour, I know that convenience of counsel does not assist but I am not available on that

day and I have been with this from the beginning but I simply mention that, your Honour.

MR SHEINER:   I imagine if there is a provision for video link counsel could appear from Melbourne, if necessary, your Honour.

GUMMOW J:   No.  It is video link from Perth.

MR SHEINER:   From Perth.  So it would be best for Mr Burnside to be present in Perth on the 12^th.

HEYDON J:   Well, he can either come to Perth or come to Canberra.

MR SHEINER:   Can come to Canberra, yes.  Well, that is a better option than proceeding today.

GUMMOW J:   That would be easier, I think.  It would accommodate your opponent more readily or your opponent’s successor, maybe.

We will stand over the application to the video link from Perth to Canberra on 12 November 2004 and reserve any question of costs.

AT 11.46 AM THE MATTER WAS ADJOURNED
UNTIL FRIDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2004