Water Administration Ministerial Corporation v Jones

The Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (the appellant) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision concerning applications for licences to sink bores. The respondent, Mr Jones, had applied for such licences, and the core of the dispute revolved around the appellant's statutory obligations and the interpretation of the *Water Act 1912* (NSW) in relation to the process of considering these applications.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the appellant's initial opinion not to advertise the bore applications was final and binding, thereby obliging the appellant to issue the licences, or whether the appellant retained the power to form a subsequent opinion to advertise. The Court also considered whether the formation of an opinion not to advertise constituted the exercise of a power that, once exercised, was spent.

The Court held that the appellant's opinion not to advertise the bore applications was not the exercise of a power that was spent upon formation. Instead, it was an ongoing process where the appellant could form a new opinion to advertise the applications at a later stage. Consequently, the appellant was not obliged to issue the licences simply because it had initially formed an opinion not to advertise them. The Court reasoned that the statutory procedure allowed for flexibility in the decision-making process regarding advertising.

The appeal was allowed in part. The declaration in paragraph 2 and the order in paragraph 4 of the minute of order were set aside. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal and was granted a certificate under the *Suitors Fund Act* if otherwise qualified.