UNSUCCESSFUL APPEAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26691, 10 February 1948, Page 5

UNSUCCESSFUL APPEAL

RIGHT OF JUSTICES TO HEAR CASE DR EVATT’S CHALLENGE Rec. 0.30 a.m. MELBOURNE, Feb. 9. The right of the Justices. Sir Hayden Starke and Mr D. Williams, to sit at the High Court hearing of the case was unsuccessfully challenged in the High Court by Dr Evatt (for the Commonwealth) on the ground that the justices may have had pecuniary interests, either directly or indirectly, in the hearing. Sir Hayden explained that his wife held shares in the National Bank of Australasia, but he had no pecuniary interest in them whatever. Mr Justice Williams said he was a shareholder in two of the banks concerned. The beneficial interest was enjoyed by his sister, who lived in Paris and who found it convenient to have the investments so arranged. He had no pecuniary interest whatever in the holdings

The Chief Justice, Sir John Latham, said a desirable course had been followed by stating the facts publicly. There could now be no suggestion of any concealment or secrecy. Seated at the Bar table were some 25 counsel, including eight K.C.’s. Mr G. Barwick, K.C., for the ( Bank of New South Wales, sought a declaration of invalidity of the whole Banking Act and also a large number of individual parts of it. Broadly, he said, the attacks numbered five. First, that the Act was not authorised by section 31 of the Commonwealth Constitution; secondly, that the Act, in three of its provisions—dealing with acquisition, management, and its prohibitory provisions—were obnoxious to section 92 of the Constitution; thirdly, in so far as the Act was justified under paragraph 31 (acquisition of property) it did not provide just terms; fourthly, the Act was an invasion of the constitutional integrity of the States; fifthly, the Act was inconsistent with section 105 and the financial agreements made thereunder. Mr Barwick said the Act contained an “ undisguised attempt to take over all business whether banking or not.” He described the definition of assetsas extremely wide and not limited to assets associated with banking.