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Truth, Justice and the Australian Way— Plaintiff S157 of 2002 V Commonwealth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2025

Helen Robertson
Helen Robertson*
Affiliation:
Australian Government Solicitor
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Abstract

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Type
Case Note and Comment
Information
Federal Law Review , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , June 2003 , pp. 373 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 The Australian National University

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Footnotes

currently living in Canada. The views expressed in this comment are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth.

References

1 Plaintiff S157 of 2002 v Commonwealth (2003) 195 ALR 24, 52 [104] (Gaudron, McHugh,Gummow, Kirby and Hayne J. As the plaintiff had applied for a protection visa under s 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), s 91X of the Act prevented the High Court publishing his name.

2 (2003) 195 ALR 24; [2003] HCA 2.

3 Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth (1951) 83 CLR 1, 93 (Dixon J) (cited byGaudron, McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ in S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 52 [103]).

4 Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Lam (2003) 195 ALR 502, 519[72] (McHugh and Gummow JJ); Gageler, Stephen, 'The Legitimate Scope of Judicial Review' (2001) 21 Australian Bar Review 279Google Scholar.

5 Aronson, Mark Dyer, Bruce, Judicial Review of Administrative Action (2nd ed, 2000) 675Google Scholar.

6 (1945) 70 CLR 598 (;'Hickman';).

7 Coal Miners; Industrial Union of Workers of Western Australia v Amalgamated Collieries ofWestern Australia Ltd (1960) 104 CLR 437, 455 (Menzies J).

8 R v Murray; Ex parte Proctor (1949) 77 CLR 387; Coal Miners; Industrial Union of Workers ofWestern Australia v Amalgamated Collieries of Western Australia Ltd (1960) 104 CLR 437; R v Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission; Ex parte Amalgamated Engineering Union (Australian Section) (1967) 118 CLR 219; R v Coldham; Ex parte Australian Workers' Union (1983) 153 CLR 415 (' Coldham'); O'Toole v Charles David Pty Ltd (1991) 171 CLR 232; Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Richard Walter Pty Ltd (1995) 183 CLR 168; Darling Casino Ltd v NSW Casino Control Authority (1997) 191 CLR 602.

9 Sir Mason, Anthony, 'The Foundations and Limitations of Judicial Review' (2001) 31 AIAL Forum 1, 20Google Scholar.

10 Philip Ruddock, 'Australia's Border Integrity Strengthened by New Legislation' (Press Release, 26 September 2001, MPS 164/2001).

11 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 26 September 2001,31559.

12 In 1994–95, there had been nearly 400 applications before the Federal Court and the HighCourt; by 2000–01 there were around 1640 cases In 199,the cost of litigation for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs was nearly $9.5 million, excluding the cost of running the courts and by 2000–01 the cost to the Department exceeded $15 million (ibid 31560).

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 (1945) 70 CLR 598, 614–15.

17 Ibid 618.

18 (1949) 77 CLR 387 (‘Murray’).

19 Ibid 400.

20 R v Coldham; Ex parte Australian Workers; Union (1983) 153 CLR 415, 419 (Mason ACJ andBrennan J); O;Toole v Charles David Pty Ltd (1991) 171 CLR 232, 274–5 (Brennan J).

21 O;Toole v Charles David Pty Ltd (1991) 171 CLR 232, 274 (Brennan J); see also Aronson and Dyer, above n 5, 695.

22 Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Richard Walter Pty Ltd (1995) 183 CLR 168, 205 (Deane and Gaudron JJ), 219 (Dawson J).

23 Ibid 194 (Brennan J).

24 Mason, above n 9; Aronson and Dyer, above n 5, 691, citing R v Commonwealth Rent Controller; Ex Parte National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Ltd (1947) 75 CLR 361; R v Central Reference Board; Ex Parte Thiess (Repairs) Pty Ltd (1948) 77 CLR 123; Murray (1949) 77CLR 387 and Hickman (1945) 70 CLR 598, 618 (Dixon J).

25 Nicole Abadee, ;Commentary on Sir Anthony Mason;s Paper—The Hickman Principle andPart 8 of the Migration Act; (Paper presented at theGilbert and Tobin Centre of Public Law Constitutional Law Conference, Sydney, 15 February 2002). See also Leslie Zines ;Constitutional Aspects of Judicial Review of Administrative Action; (1998) 1 Constitutional Law and Policy Review 50.

26 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 26 September 2001,31561.

27 This section was originally inserted by the Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No 1) 2001 (Cth), which came into operation on 27 September 2001, five days before the commencement of the privative clause. The section was amended by the MLAJR Act to refer to ;a privative clause decision'.

28 Philip Ruddock, 'Immigration Litigation at Record Levels' (Press Release, 3 February 2003,MPS 6/2003).

29 See the transcripts of callovers of 198 Immigration Matters (High Court of Australia, Gaudron J, 6 February 2003) and of 494 Immigration Matters (High Court of Australia, Hayne J, 7 February 2003).

30 Facts taken from S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 37 [44]–[45] (Gaudron, McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ).

31 See ibid 38 [46].

32 Ibid 39 [52].

33 Ibid 39 [53], 42 [62].

34 For convenience, the judgment of Gaudron, McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ willbe referred to as the 'majority judgment'.

35 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 41 [57].

36 Ibid 41–2 [60].

37 Ibid 42 [64].

38 Ibid.

39 Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Richard Walter Pty Ltd (1995) 183 CLR 168, 194 (BrennanIn S157, Callinan J also rejected this argument but did acknowledge that it was based on Brennan J's statement (see (2003) 195 ALR 24, 68–9 [160]).

40 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 43 [65].

41 (1983) 153 CLR 415, 419.

42 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 44 [67].

43 Ibid [68].

44 Ibid [69].

45 (2003) 195 ALR 1; see further below, text accompanying nn 95–98.

46 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 44 [71]–[72]. As noted in text accompanying note above, it could be argued that Parliament's intention to cut down the jurisdiction of courts was quite clear in relation to s 474.

47 Ibid 45 [74]–[75].

48 Ibid 45 [76].

49 (2002) 187 ALR 1.

50 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 46 [77].

51 Ibid 46 [78].

52 Compare with the English and New Zealand position where this distinction has been discarded; Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147; R v Hull University Visitor; Ex parte Page [1993] AC 682; Peters v Davison [1999] 2 NZLR 164.

53 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 46 [80].

54 (2002) 188 ALR 1.

55 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 46–7 [80]–[81].

56 Ibid 46 [82].

57 Ibid, 47 [98].

58 See further discussion commencing below, text accompanying nn 118–27.

59 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 52 [104].

60 Ibid 26–27 [3]-[9]; 32 [22].

61 Ibid 27 [10].

62 Ibid 28–32 [11]–[22].

63 Ibid 33 [26].

64 See ibid 33–5 [27]–[33].

65 Quoting Public Service Association (SA) v Federated Clerks Union (1991) 173 CLR 132, 160 (Dawson and Gaudron JJ).

66 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 35 [34].

67 Ibid [37].

68 Ibid 28–30 [13]–[18].

69 Ibid 28 [13].

70 Ibid 67 [159].

71 Ibid 52 [108], quoting a statement of Menzies in Afternoon Light (1967).

72 Ibid 52–6 [108]–[118].

73 Ibid 54 [112].

74 See Ibid 56 [117]; also 59 [125].

75 Ibid 56 [118].

76 Ibid 67–8 [159]–[160].

77 (1983) 153 CLR 415.

78 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 69 [160].

79 Ibid 47–8 [84]

80 Ibid 48–9 [86]–[91].

81 Ibid 36 [41].

82 Ibid 71 [173]–[176].

83 (1998) 194 CLR 355.

84 (1995) 184 CLR 163. This decision is only referred to by Callinan J: S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24,59[125], in a discussion about the availability o certiorari to correct non–jurisdictional error of law.

85 (2001) 206 CLR 323.

86 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 45 [76].

87 The majority referred to R v Coldham; Ex parte Australian Workers' Union (1983) 153 CLR415, 419 (Mason ACJ and Brennan J). See alo R v Metal Trades Employers' Association; Ex parte Amalgamated Engineering Union, Australian Section (1951) 82 CLR 208, 248 (Dixon J); Darling Casino Ltd v NSW Casino Control Authority (1997) 191 CLR 602, 632 (Gaudron and Gummow JJ).

88 (1998) 194 CLR 355. The majority was composed of McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and HayneJJ, all members of the majority in S157. However Project Blue Sky is only referred to by the majority at 48 [90] in their discussion about s 486A.

89 Ibid 390.

90 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 44 [69].

91 (2003) 195 ALR 1.

92 Ibid 34 [32].

93 Ibid 35–6 [33]–[40].

94 Ibid 38 [47].

95 Ibid 44 [72].

96 Ibid 76 [79].

97 Ibid 46–7 [80]–[81].

98 Ibid 48 [88]. Their Honours did not need to consider other arguments regarding the RRT'sdecision or the Minister's decision. See ibid 50–1 [97]–[100].

99 (2002) 193 ALR 449 ('NAAV').

100 The only reference is to be found in the judgment of Gleeson CJ at 35 [36] and this commentdoes not deal with the substance of the decision.

101 NAAV (2002) 193 ALR 449, 458–9 [20]–[22] (Black CJ), 484 [105] (Beaumont J), 522 [308](Wilcox J), 589–90 [538]–[546] (French J), 621 [645]–[646] (von Doussa J).

102 Ibid 460 [30] (Black CJ), 533 [374] (Wilcox J), 619–21 [636]–[644] (von Doussa J); but see 566[474]–[476] (French J).

103 For example, Lobo v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003]FCA 144 (Unreported, Gyles J, 6 March 2003) [13]; Koulaxazov v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 75 (Unreported, Madgwick, Gyles and Conti JJ, 2 May 2003) [73] (Conti J); WACM v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 92 (Unreported, French, Carr and Finn JJ, 15 May 2003)

[36]; SBBA v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 90 (Unreported, Weinberg, Stone and Jacobson JJ, 9 May 2003) [16–17].

104 Lobo v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCA 144 (Unreported, Gyles J, 6 March 2003).

105 SBBG v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 121

(Unreported, Gray, von Doussa and Selway JJ, 6 June 2003) [19].

106 Zahid v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 24 (Unreported, French, Lindgren and Finkelstein JJ, 26 February 2003).

107 SAAD v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 65 (Unreported, Cooper, Carr and Finkelstein JJ, 11 April 2003); SCAT v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 80 (Unreported, Madgwick, Gyles and Conti JJ, 30 April 2003); VGAO of 2002 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 68 (Unreported, Wilcox, Cooper and Allsop JJ, 23 April 2003); NAPL v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 94 (Unreported , Ryan, Finkelstein and Downes JJ, 20 May 2003).

108 VGAO of 2002 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 68 (Unreported, Wilcox, Cooper and Allsop JJ, 23 April 2003); Phuc v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 18 (Unreported, French, Lee and Nicholson JJ, 30 May 2003).

109 See Scargill v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC116 (Unreported, French, von Doussa and Marshall JJ, 3 June 2003) for an interesting application of Gaudron and Kirby JJ's reasoning in S134 (2003) 195 ALR 1, 9–10 [36]–[37].

110 Wu v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 81(Unreported, Moore, Emmett and Bennett JJ, 6 May 2003); VAAC v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 74 (Unreported, North, Merkel and Weinberg JJ, 17 April 2003); Bax v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 55 (Unreported, Carr, Merkel and Hely JJ, 27 March 2003).

111 WADK v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 48(Unreported, French, Hill and Marshall JJ, 1 February 2003).

112 NAHV of 2002 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003]FCAFC 102 (Unreported, Carr, Kiefel and Allsop JJ, 23 May 2003).

113 NAAP v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 76 (Unreported, Gray, Moore and Weinberg JJ, 2 April 2003).

114 Untan v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Aff.00airs [2003] FCAFC 69(Unreported, Beaumont, Whitlam and Stone JJ, 11 April 2003), applying the High Court's decision in Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs; Ex parte Lam (2003) 195 ALR 502.

115 Ngu v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 54(Unreported, Carr, Merkel and Hely JJ, 27 March 2003).

116 S157 (2003) 195 ALR 24, 47 [82].

117 The effect of this legislation was not considered in S157 because it was not relevant todecisions in question: ibid 37 n 42.

118 Ibid 50–4 [100]–[111].

119 Ibid 51 [102].

120 Ibid 55 [114]–[115].

121 Caron Beaton–Wells 'Restoring the Rule of Law–Plaintiff S157/2002 v Commonwealth ofAustralia– (2003) 10 Australian Journal of Administrative Law 125, 145.

122 Gageler, above n 4, 291.

123 Aronson and Dyer, above n 5, 689.

124 NAAV (2002) 193 ALR 449 [594] (French J).

125 Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee, Parliament of Australia, Report intothe Migration Legislation Amendment(Judicial Review) Bill 1998, (1999) [3.4]–[3.13].

126 In the 2001–2002 reporting year special leave was refused in 77% of civil and criminalapplications; see High Court of Australia Annual Report 2001–02. The numbers are in Part VII, Annexure B, tables 16 and 18 of the 2001–2002 r.

127 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 26 September 2001,31561.