Construction Thursday, 9 April 2015 View in browser

A daily Bulletin listing our choice of Decisions of Superior Courts of Australia.
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Executive Summary (One Minute Read)
Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia (HCA) - Constitutional law - special case - Div 48, Pt 3 Sch 1 Clean Energy Regulations 2011 (Cth) did not contravene s99 Constitution
Community Association DP270253 v Woollahra Municipal Council (NSWCA) - costs - appeal from costs judgment in Land and Environment Court dismissed
Summaries With Link (Five Minute Read)
Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia [2015] HCA 12
High Court of Australia
French CJ; Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, Keane & Nettle JJ
Constitutional law - special case to determine whether Div 48, Pt 3 Sch 1 Clean Energy Regulations 2011 (Cth) was invalid in application to plaintiff as result of giving preference to one State over another contrary to s99 Constitution - plaintiff contended Jobs and Competitiveness Program contravened s99 because allocative baselines it prescribed by were fixed by reference to industry averages and resulted in same number of free carbon units per unit volume of production regardless of differences between producers’ inputs, production processes and outputs - held: validity of provisions of Regulations upheld - Div 48 did not give preference to one State over another - no contravention of s99 Constitution.
QueenslandNickel
Community Association DP270253 v Woollahra Municipal Council [2015] NSWCA 80
Court of Appeal of New South Wales
Barrett, Emmett & Leeming JJA
Costs - Association challenged costs orders made in Land and Environment Court proceedings - Association successful in application for recovation of order issued Council under s121B Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) - primary judge decided there should be no order as to costs - correctness of primary judge’s decision that it was not “fair and reasonable” that costs order be made - reasonableness of Council’s conduct in mounting defence to action - r3.7 Land and Environment Court Rules 2007 (NSW) - held: Association failed to establish Council’s conduct as a litigant in proceedings made it fair and reasonable that Council was required to pay Association’s costs - no error of law in primary judge’s decision on costs - appeal dismissed.
Community