Key Cases Flashcards
1
Q
What year was the Railway Servants Case and what did it entail?
A
1906
- Dispute between WA and Commonwealth about the right to legislate working conditions for workers employed by WA Government
- Doctrine of Implied Immunities was applied
- Found in favour of WA, strengthening State powers
2
Q
What year was the Engineers Case and what did it entail?
A
1920
- Commonwealth sought to legislate on a WA saw-milling factory under industrial relations power – s.51 (xxxv)
- Union members involved were part of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers – a national union
- Found in favour of Commonwealth, reversing the precedent of the Railway Servants Case
- Overturned the Doctrine of Implied Immunities
3
Q
What years were the two Uniform Tax Cases and what did they involve?
A
1942 and 1957
- Using s.51 (ii) – the taxation power – the Commonwealth Government established the Income Tax Act 1942 to collect all income tax
- Case 1 found in favour of the Commonwealth due to being Constitutionally valid and especially necessary during wartime
- Gave Commonwealth the power over collection of Income Tax which is over half of all revenue by the Government resulting in Vertical Fiscal Imbalance
- Case 2 also found in favour of the Commonwealth
- Constitutionally valid under s. 51 (ii) Taxation, s.96 Tied Grants and s.109 Inconsistency of Laws
4
Q
What year was the Communist Party case and what did it entail?
A
1951
- Following Menzies election in 1949, they created the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 on a strong specific mandate
- This Act immediately dissolved the Communist Party and forfeited its property without compensation, gave the Governor-General the power to declare bodies as communist affiliates and therefore unlawful, and authorised the Governor-General to declare a person as a communist and therefore ban them from being employed by the Commonwealth, hold office in a labour union or industry vital to Australia’s defence
- The Communist Party and several unions challenged these laws immediately
- Found in favour of The Communist Party, finding the Communist Party Dissolution Act unconstitutional
5
Q
What year was the Concrete Pipes Case and what did it involve?
A
1971
- Allowed for the Commonwealth to use the corporations power s.51 (xx) to legislate for the intrastate activities of corporations
- Made the Trade Practices Act 1974 constitutional that gave the Commonwealth huge power over the states around corporations
6
Q
What year was Koowarta and what did it entail?
A
1982
- Dispute over Queensland decision that stopped John Koowarta from buying a lease on land due to being Aboriginal
- This contravened with the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975 passed using the external affairs power s.51 (xxix)
- Found in favour of the Commonwealth
- Effectively resulted in Queensland losing sovereign powers over land management
7
Q
What year was the Tasmanian Dams Case and what did it involve?
A
1983
- The Commonwealth interfered with the Tasmanian government’s decision to dam the Gordon-below-Franklin River using the external affairs power s.51 (xxix) and the Koowarta precedent
- The area was protected as a World Heritage Area from the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 which was made from an international convention
- Found in favour of the Commonwealth and Tasmania lost sovereign powers over land and river management
8
Q
What year was Mabo and what did it involve?
A
1992
- Eddie Mabo claimed that the Meriam people had held continuous ownership of their land in the Mer Islands
- Queensland used the doctrine of terra nullius that imported all laws of England to a new land that was not occupied, which was used to colonise Australia, as their defence
- Found in favour of Mabo and therefore establishing Native Title Rights and abolished terra nullius
- The Commonwealth subsequently passed the Native Title Act 1993 to clarify the new common law of native title, recognising its existence in certain circumstances and establishing a Native Title Tribunal
