Conspiracy summonses ruling challenged

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34145, 5 May 1976, Page 5

Conspiracy summonses ruling challenged

CN.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) SYDNEY. A New South Wales (Court judge has begun hearing applications con(cerning conspiracy summonses issued against the former Prime Minister, Mr Gough Whitlam, and the former Minister for Minerals and Energy, Mr Connor. Both men are challenging a Queabeyan Magistrate’s ruling that he had power to hear committal proceedings on the conspiracy allegations. Mr D. Sankey, a Sydney solicitor, alleges that Mr

|Whitlam, Mr Connor, Drf Cairns, and the former Federal Attorney-General, Mr Justice Murphy, were guilty of conspiracy in authorising overseas loan-raising attempts by the Labour Government. After a stipendiary Magistrate, Mr D. F. Leo, ruled in the Queabeyan Court of Petty Sessions on March 15 that he had jurisdiction to hear the case, writs challenging the ruling were issued out of the New South Wales Supreme Court on behalf of Mr Whitlam and Mr Connor. On Monday, Mr Whitlam and Mr Connor, through counsel, applied to Mr Justice Lee for orders to quash each information and summons against them. They said that Mr I. For-

isyth, a chamber Magistrate, had no jurisdiction to issue the informations. They also sought an order prohibiting Mr Sankey from further prosecuting the informations, and an order prohibiting Mr Leo from proceeding any further with them. Mr Whitlam and Mr Connor asked his Honour to direct Mr Leo to discharge them in respect of the matters alleged in the informations. After legal submissions by Mr T. Hughes, Q.C. (for Mr Whitlam), Mr K. Enderby, Q.C. (for Mr Connor), and Mr D. Rofe, Q.C., (for Mr Sankey), his Honour stood the hearing over to 10 a.m. tomorrow. He said he wanted to read the ruling given by Mr Leo, before making his decision.