Duncan v NSW; Nucoal Resources Ltd v NSW; Cascade Coal Pty Ltd v NSW [2015] HCA 13: Constitutional Validity and Mining
Wednesday 15 April 2015 @ 11.38 a.m. | Legal Research
The High Court has unanimously upheld the validity of certain provisions of Schedule 6A to the New South Wales Mining Act 1992. In the case of Duncan v The State of New South Wales; Nucoal Resources Ltd v New South Wales; Cascade Coal Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales [2015] HCA 13, delivered today (15 April 2015), the Court found that the provisions which cancelled, without compensation, three specified exploration licences issued under the Mining Act did not contravene the implied limitation on State legislative power by the Constitution.
Facts of the Case
Schedule 6A was inserted into the Mining Act by the Mining Amendment (ICAC Operations Jasper and Acacia) Act 2014, which was enacted by both Houses of the NSW Parliament following reports prepared by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The ICAC’s report contained findings that a number of key individuals had engaged in corrupt conduct in relation to the grant of the exploration licences. The ICAC recommended that the licences were so tainted with corruption that the only rectification viable was a complete cancellation of all three.
The Challenge
The validity of the provisions enacted was challenged in three separate proceedings by the corporate licensees and their parent company. In each proceeding, the point of contention was that the amendment involved the legislative exercise of judicial power in the nature of a bill of pains and penalties that violated the implied limitation on State legislative power as derived from Chapter III Of the Commonwealth Constitution.
Decision
The Court held that the amendment is a valid law within the competence of the New South Wales Parliament because the grant of legislative power by s 5 of the Constitution Act 1902 implied no relevant limitation as to the content of an enactment of that Parliament. It also held that the amendment did not involve the exercise of judicial power and did not bear the characteristics of a bill of pains and penalties. The existence and scope of any implied limitation on the ability of a State Parliament to exercise judicial power did not, therefore, arise for consideration.
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