Case: Truth About Motorways Pty Ltd v Macquarie Infrastructure Management Ltd [2000] HCA 11 ; (1999) 200 CLR 591
Outcome: cited
The respondent made written submissions to the following effect: a. the applicant is doing nothing other than attempting to enforce the public law as enacted by the provisions of the DD Act and the Disability Standards b. there is no right subsisting for the benefit of the applicant or its members personally that is sought to be asserted through this litigation c. the application by the applicant is one to assert the effect of the public law of the Commonwealth and the applicant therefore faces the difficulty in relation to standing as the application is a bare attempt to assert a public right or duty: Australian Conservation Foundation [1979] HCA 1 ; 146 CLR 493. The applicant has no special interest or private right asserted by the litigation, and there is no statutory basis providing standing in respect of the complaint: Truth About Motorways Pty Ltd v Macquarie Infrastructure Management Ltd [2000] HCA 11 ; (1999) 200 CLR 591 d. no relator action is brought in the name of the Attorney-General at the applicant's request that such proceeding be undertaken: Farley &amp; Lewers Ltd v AG [1963] NSWR 1624 e. this is not a case where the interference with a public right is such that the applicant suffers special damage peculiar to itself from the interference: Boyce [1903] 1 Ch 109 f. the applicant does not have standing to bring the prosecution. Accordingly, the complaint does not disclose a reasonable cause of action and should be struck out: Australian Conservation Foundation [1979] HCA 1 ; 146 CLR 493. 28 The applicant submitted in summary: a. the issue of standing to commence an action under the HREOC Act or the DD Act is to be determined on the proper construction of those Acts, not by reference to provisions of other enactments or common law principles: Stephenson v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1996) 68 FCR 290 b. given that the legislation is for the benefit of a burdened class of the public, in the event of ambiguity the legislation should receive a beneficial interpretation: Cooper v Human Rights &amp; Equal Opportunity Commission [1999] FCA 180 ; (1999) 93 FCR 481 c. contravention of a standard may be cause for complaint under s 32 DD Act d. section 46P(2) HREOC Act defines who may lodge a complaint under the HREOC Act. The section contemplates a complaint by an "aggrieved person" on the basis of "alleged unlawful discrimination" e. the provisions of the HREOC Act and the DD Act make it plain that they confer private rights with respect to "unlawful discrimination" as defined in s 3 HREOC Act f. the proceedings in the Court involve a determination of the allegations of unlawful discrimination as set out in the complaint, and are circumscribed by the complaint which was terminated by the President g. the applicant's complaint concerns ss 31 and 32 DD Act , and the terms of the complaint and the proceedings before the Court raise the issue of a contravention of the Disability Standards h. the HREOC Act operates to allow complaints to be made about non-compliance with the Disability Standards. Section 46P(1) HREOC Act creates a private right to make a complaint based on s 32 i. the material clearly identifies a dispute between the applicant and the respondent, namely the failure on the part of the respondent to comply with the Disability Standards j. Australian Conservation Foundation [1979] HCA 1 ; 146 CLR 493 is not relevant in this matter because the High Court found that the provisions of the relevant legislation in that case did not create private rights k. the approach taken by the High Court in Truth About Motorways [2000] HCA 11 ; 200 CLR 591 confirms that the provisions of the HREOC Act and the DD Act permit the applicant to proceed in this Court.