Power, Valerie & Anor v City of Belmont & Anor [1984] FCA 48

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

WESTERN AUSTRALIA DISTRICT REGISTRY

GENERAL DIVISION

Nos. WA 22 of 1983 WA 23 of 1983

BETWEEN:

VALERIE POWER Prosecutor

and

CITY OF BELMONT Defendant

JILL MARGARET LONG Prosecutor

and CITY OF BELMONT Defendant

CORAM: TOOHEY J.

23 February 1984

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

There are before the Court two summonses upon information, each alleging an offence against s.5(1) of the

Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904. By consent both summonses

were heard together.

In each case the prosecutor is a former employee of the defendant, the City of Belmont. Mrs. Power was a library clerk

and Mrs. Long a clerical officer. Both were summarily dismissed

on 18 October 1983 by Mr. Burton, the defendant's town clerk. Both claim to have been dismissed by reason of their membership of, and what I may loosely describe as their association with, the Municipal Officers' Association of Australia, an organisation

under the Act.

In March 1983 the defendant received from Michael Downing (Management Consultants) Pty. Ltd. a report which it had commissioned concerning the organisation of the City of Belmont. It was a report aimed at improving the efficiency of the defendant's operations and undoubtedly had implications for the defendant's staff, a number of whom were members of the Municipal

Officers Association.

The defendant regarded the report as confidential. The consultant delivered one copy to Councillor Rae, the Mayor of the City of Belmont. In the interests of security, he had twelve photocopies taken at his own business premises and arranged for a copy to be delivered to each councillor in an envelope marked "confidential". There were 13. councillors in all including the

Mayor.

There was some discrepancy between the evidence of Councillor Rae and Mr. Burton regarding the circumstances in which a copy was held by the town clerk. Nothing turns on this and I accept the Mayor's evidence that ata later stage, when two