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7 J
CATCHWORDS
Administrative law - Two Airlines Agreement - reasons for decision of
Secretary of Department of Aviation - sufficiency thereof - giving
further and better particulars.
Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977: s. 13.
Airlines Agreement Act 1981: Schedule.
ANSETT TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES (OPERATIONS) LIMITED v.
RAE MARTIN TAYLOR
No. VG 27 of 1987
Lockhart J.
10 April 1987
Sydney
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
)
)
VICTORIA DISTRICT REGISTRY )
) NO. VG 27 of 1987
)
GENERAL DIVISION
ANSETT TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES
(OPERATIONS) LIMITED
Applicant
RAE MARTIN TAYLOR (who is sued in
his capacity as Secretary of the
Department of State for Aviation)
Respondent
MINUTE OF ORDERS
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1. The application be dismissed.
2. The applicant pay the respondent's costs of the application.
NOTE: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with under Order 36
of the Federal Court Rules.
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
VICTORIA DISTRICT REGISTRY
NO. VG 27 of 1987
www wv
GENERAL DIVISION
ANSETT TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES
(OPERATIONS) LIMITED
Applicant
RAE MARTIN TAYLOR (who is sued in
his capacity as Secretary of the
Department of State for Aviation)
Respondent
10 April 1987
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
LOCKHART J.
On 31 October 1986 the respondent, Rae Martin Taylor,
Secretary of the Department of Aviation ("the Secretary"), decided
that he was not satisfied that the services operated by East-West
(Operations) Limited ("East-West") between Sydney/Yulara/Perth were
not predominantly for use for the purpose of carriage of passengers
over separate prescribed routes. The decision was made pursuant to
clause 6(1){c) of what is generally known as the Two Airlines
Agreement.
The Two Airlines Agreement is dated 28 May 1981 and its
parties are the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian National
Airlines Commission ("Australian Airlines") and Ansett Transport
Industries (Operations) Limited ("Ansett"). The agreement is a
schedule to the Airlines Agreement Act 1981 and it was approved by s.
5 of that Act.
The relevant parts of clause 6 of the agreement are as
follows:
"6.(1)(a) The parties shall take all reasonable
action within their powers to ensure that the
Commission and the Company are the only two
operators which provide scheduled domestic
passenger air services over trunk routes
within Australia.
(b) Subject to paragraph (c) of this sub-clause
nothing in sub-clause (1)({a) shall prevent
other operators from providing scheduled
passenger air services over a prescribed route
or successive prescribed routes.
(c) Where any successive prescribed routes have
the effect of linking two trunk route centres
that are for the time being trunk route
centres for the purposes of sub-clause (1)(e),
sub-clause(1)(b) applies unless the Secretary
is satisfied that such scheduled passenger air
services are not predominantly for use for the
purpose of the carriage of passengers over
separate prescribed routes and are to a
significant extent used or to be used for the
purpose of carriage of passengers between two
centres that are for the time being trunk
route centres for the purposes of sub-clause
(1)(e)."
The Secretary's decision followed an examination by him of
East-West's services over various prescribed routes with the intention
of forming a view as to the status of those routes for the purposes of
clause 6(1)(c) of the Two Airlines Agreement. The Secretary
considered East-West's services in relation to various routes, but the
only relevant routes for present purposes are the successive
prescribed routes of Sydney/Yulara and Yulara/Perth.
This application is the latest round of a curial contest
between Ansett, Australian Airlines, East-West, the Minister for
3.
Aviation and the Secretary. I have dealt with other aspects of the
dispute in earlier judgments where much of the relevant background
appears, so I need not repeat it.
On 4 November 1986 the solicitors for Ansett wrote to the
Secretary requesting him to furnish a statement of reasons for his
decision pursuant to sub-s. 13(1) of the Administrative Decisions
(Judicial Review) Act 1977 ("the Judicial Review Act"). By letter
dated 13 November 1986 the Secretary declined to furnish the statement
on the ground that his decision was not susceptible to review under
the Judicial Review Act as it was not a decision made "under an
enactment" within the meaning of that expression in sub-s. 3(1).
Ansett commenced proceedings in this Court against the
Secretary seeking a declaration that it was entitled to request a
statement from him pursuant to sub-s. 13(1). The matter was heard by
me and on 23 December 1986 I made a declaration that Ansett was
entitled to request the statement. On 19 January 1987 the Secretary
furnished the statement to Ansett. On 28 January 1987 Ansett filed in
this Court an application to review the Secretary's decision of 31
October 1986. Ansett challenges the Secretary's decision on various
grounds which it is unnecessary for me to mention here. The hearing
of Ansett's application has been specially fixed for a date later in
April. What is before the Court now is another application of Ansett
filed on 13 February 1987 which seeks further and better particulars
of the section 13 statement already furnished by the Secretary.
It is common ground that the routes Sydney/Yulara and
Yulara/Perth are successive prescribed routes within the meaning of
4.
that expression in clause 6 of the Two Airlines Agreement. Having
taken the view that he was not satisfied that East-West's scheduled
passenger air services over the routes were not predominantly for use
for the purpose of the carriage of passengers over the separate
prescribed routes Sydney/Yulara and Yulara/Perth, the Secretary stated
in the last paragraph (para. 29) of the section 13 statement that it
was not necessary to consider the second limb of clause 6(1)(c),
namely, whether the relevant air services are to a significant extent
used or to be used for the purpose of carriage of passengers between
two trunk route centres (i.e. Sydney and Perth).
The section 13 statement relevant to Sydney/Yulara/Perth
contains eight pages with paragraphs numbered 1 to 29, For ease of
reference I attach the statement to these reasons for judgment.
Paragraphs 1 to 3 of the section 13 statement contain
introductory material including the finding of the Secretary that he
was not satisfied for the purposes of clause 6(1)(c) of the matters
referred to in its first limb.
The second section (paras. 4 to 20) contain the Secretary's
"PINDINGS ON MATERIAL QUESTIONS OF FACT". The Secretary referred to
the earlier decision of his predecessor, Mr. T.W. Freeland, made on 13
August 1985 which states that he (Mr. Freeland) was satisfied that
East-West's passenger air services over the route Sydney/Yulara/Perth
were not predominantly for use for the purpose of the carriage of
passengers over separate prescribed routes and were to a significant
extent used for the purpose of carriage of passengers between the
trunk route centres Sydney and Perth (para. 5). The Secretary
5.
described the scheduled passenger air services now provided by
East-West over the route Sydney/Yulara/Perth and made comparisons
between those services and those provided by Ansett and Australian
Airlines (paras. 6, 7 and 8). He said that East-West's publicly
stated intention is to develop Yulara as a major tourist destination
(para. 9). The Secretary then said that East-West adopted the
timetable that it has because of various matters to which he referred
(para. 10). After mentioning East-West's bookings policy for
Sydney/Perth passengers (para. 12) and East-West's published timetable
(para. 13), the Secretary said in paragraph 14 "The general thrust of
East-West's advertising and promotional material appears to be aimed
primarily at promotion of tourist travel to Yulara. East-West advised
that with certain exceptions it was intended there should be no
further advertising of the service between Sydney and Perth". He
referred to the Independent Airfares Committee "Cost Allocation
Review" of July 1985 in paragraph 16 and said in paragraph 17 that in
1985 the "level sector" traffic as a proportion of total traffic
carried by East-West (on the Sydney/Yulara/Perth route) has "increased
markedly".
The next section in the section 13 statement is titled
"EVIDENCE OR OTHER MATERIAL ON WHICH FINDINGS WERE BASED" and it
contains one paragraph numbered 21 which has a number of
sub-paragraphs (a) to (j). In this section the Secretary refers to
various attachments A to G which include a large number of documents
that, together with the departmental submission referred to in
sub-paragraph {a) and the relevant departmental minutes, constitute
the evidence or other material on which the Secretary based his
findings of fact relevant to the decision under challenge.
Many of the documents to which the Secretary refers and upon
which he apparently relied in reaching his decision were disclosed to
him by East-West in confidence as they contain commercially sensitive
material and are marked "Commercial-In-Confidence". Sensible
arrangements were made between the parties and were adopted by me for
the purpose of hearing this application to ensure that counsel and
solicitors and an independent expert retained by Ansett had access to
these documents, but that they were not generally available to
officers of Ansett. They are the subject of confidentiality orders.
The final section in the section 13 statement is titled
"REASONS FOR DECISION" and contains paragraphs 22 to 29. I need not
recite them.
This sufficiently sets out the facts to understand the issues
involved in the present application.
Where a decision-maker is obliged to furnish a section 13
statement it must be a statement in writing setting out the findings
on the material questions of fact, referring to the evidence or other
Material on which those findings were based and giving the reasons for
decision (sub-s. 13(1) and (2)).
If the person to whom the statement has been furnished
considers that it does not contain adequate particulars of findings on
material questions of fact or an adequate reference to the evidence or
other material on which those findings were based or adequate
particulars of the reasons for decision, the Court may order the
7.
person who furnished the statement to furnish to the person who made
the request for the statement an additional statement or additional
statements containing further and better particulars in relation to
Matters specified in the order with respect to those findings, that
evidence or other material or those reasons (sub-s. 13(7)).
The principles governing the interpretation of s. 13 are
referred to in various cases including Re Palmer and Minister for the
Capital Territory (1978) 23 A.L.R. 196; Ansett Transport Industries
(Operations) Pty. Ltd v. Wraith (1983) 48 A.L.R. 500; and Arms
Construction Pty. Limited v. Deputy Commission of Taxation (1986) 65
A.L.R. 343.
The duty to give reasons pursuant to a statutory obligation
and the principles governing the interpretation of those statutes,
other than s. 13 of the Judicial Review Act, are referred to in many
cases which provide useful background for the interpretation and
operation of s. 13. The cases include In re Poyser and Mills'
Arbitration (1964) 2 Q.B. 467 at pp. 477 and 478; Iveagh v. Minister
of Housing and Local Government (1964) 1 Q.B. 395 per Denning L.J. at
p. 410; Elliott v. Southwark London Borough Council [1976] 1 W.L.R.
499 per James L.J. at p. 508; Collins v. Repatriation Commission
(1980) 32 A.L.R. 581 at pp. 594-5; Clark v. Wellington Rent Appeal
Board (1975) 2 N.2.L.R. 24 at pp. 26 and 27; Dalton v. Deputy
Commissioner of Taxation (NSW) (1985) 60 A.L.R. 783 at p. 792;
Mountview Court Properties Ltd v. Devlin (1970) 21 P. & C.R. 689 per
Lord Parker C.J. at p. 692 and Body Corporate Strata Plan No. 4166 v.
Sterling Properties Ltd (No. 2) [1984] V.R. 903 at p. 91l.
8.
The purpose of section 13 is to enable persons whose property
or whose interests are affected by an administrative decision to be
fully informed of the basis on which the decision was made and the
reasons for it. Hence the section requires that the statement set out
the findings on material questions of fact with reference to the
material on which the findings were based and that it give the reasons
for the decision.
Whether reasons are sufficient or not must depend upon the
circumstances of the particular case. The section does not require
that the findings on all questions of fact be set out; it is
sufficient if the statement sets out the findings on material
questions of fact. Nor is it necessary that the evidence or other
material be set out in the statement; it is sufficient if it is
referred to in it. Nor should the statement be interpreted by the
courts narrowly or technically. Section 13 is remedial in character.
I agree with the following statement by Burchett J. in Arm
Constructions Pty. Ltd v. Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (1986) 65
A.L.R. 343 at p. 349:
"It would be wrong for courts to construe
reasons in any overly critical spirit,
forgetful that they are the reasons of an
administrator, not of the draftsman of an Act.
But it would be as bad to betray the aims of
the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review)
Act, by ignoring what has been required by the
Parliament to be disclosed in the interests of
just and lawful (and not merely unassailable)
administration."
Section 13 seeks to strike a balance between the requirement
that persons affected by an administrative decision know the basis
upon which it was made and the necessity that the administration of
9.
this country be carried on effectively without undue intervention by
the courts in the administrative process. The citizen must have, when
he receives the statement, sufficient information to decide whether to
accept the decision or to pursue the matter further within the
administrative process itself or to challenge the decision in the
courts.
Counsel for Ansett submitted that the section 13 statement
furnished by the Secretary was insufficient in various respects. It
is convenient if I group the criticisms of the statement under the
following headings:
a) It failed to specify the criteria applied by the Secretary in
reaching his conclusion that he was not satisfied that the
relevant passenger air services were not predominantly for
use for the purpose of the carriage of passengers over
separate prescribed routes;
b) It failed to state the Secretary's understanding of the
relevant law that he applied when reaching his decision and
his processes of reasoning;
c) The Secretary failed to specify the weight which he assigned
to each of the findings of fact referred to in paragraphs 9
to 20 of the statement;
da) A specific challenge was made to paragraph 20 of the
statement where the Secretary said:
10.
"The fact and circumstances which now prevail
in relation to East-West's services over the
routes are different from those which
prevailed in August 1985 when the former
Secretary considered those routes."
It was submitted that this was a compendious statement and
that it is unclear whether it must be read in the light of
the paragraphs which preceded it or whether it refers to
additional, but unstated, facts and circumstances; and
e) Paragraph 26 of the statement was attacked on similar
grounds to those which formed the basis of the criticism of
paragraph 20. Paragraph 26 states:
"Given the different facts and circumstances
which prevailed at the time of my decision as
compared to those which prevailed at the time
of the former Secretary's decision, the task
for me was to decide whether I was satisfied
of the existence of the two matters specified
in paragraph 6(1)(c)."
The findings of the Secretary under clause 6(1)(c) are
essentially findings of fact. Was the Secretary satisfied that the
relevant scheduled passenger air services provided by East-West were
not predominantly for use for the purpose of carriage of passengers
over the separate prescribed routes? To answer this question the
Secretary must state, as he did, the evidence or other material which
he took into account in making his findings. He must state his
findings of fact; but that is essentially a statement of the results
of a judgemental exercise. It is a process of sifting and weighing
and then drawing conclusions.
li.
The Secretary should state the relevant statutory framework
which surrounds the subject matter of his decision, otherwise it would
be difficult to understand the reasons for his decision. The
statement makes it plain that this is what the Secretary did. It must
be kept in mind also that when giving his reasons the Secretary was
furnishing them to one of the parties to the Two Airlines Agreement, a
party familiar with the legislative framework in which the Two
Airlines Agreement is placed.
Some reliance was placed by counsel for Ansett upon a passage
from the judgment of Woodward J. in Ansett Transport Industries
(Operations) Pty. Limited v. Wraith (supra) where his Honour said at
p. 507 that the decision-maker was required by sub-s. 13(1) of the
Judicial Review Act to "set out his understanding of the relevant law
As the Judicial Review Act is concerned with decisions made
under Commonwealth enactments, a section 13 statement generally should
draw the attention of the person who requests it sufficiently to the
relevant law to enable him to understand the legislative framework in
which the decision was made. This may in some cases merely involve a
brief reference to the statutory or other law underlying the decision.
In other cases in may involve a fairly detailed reference to sections
of statutes or to particular regulations or other delegated
legislation. It all depends on the particular enactment involved in
the decision- making process in question. Woodward J.'s reference to
the requirement that the decision-maker set out his understanding of
the relevant law cannot, in my view, be called in aid of the
12.
proposition that in every case a decision-maker must in substance
specify all relevant law or give a legal opinion as if he were a
barrister advising his client. Section 13 is concerned with practical
considerations aimed at properly informing the person whose property
or whose other interests are affected by the decision of the grounds
of the decision which has been made and which affects him.
There is no substance in the criticism that the Secretary
should have, but did not, indicate the particular weight which he gave
to each of his findings of fact. Where his task is to decide whether
he is or is not satisfied of the matters specified in the first limb
of clause 6(1)(c) it seems to me that it would make his task
difficult, if not impossible, were he required to assign varying
degrees of weight to particular matters which he regarded as relevant
in reaching his decision. The Secretary mentioned in the section 13
statement the facts and documents upon which he relied. What he said
in effect was that, having regard to the various matters which he
regarded as relevant, he reached a particular conclusion and was not
satisfied as to the matters mentioned in the first limb of clause
6(1)(c). His enquiry is of a general or global character. A lot of
matters were taken into account by him as, indeed, they should have
been, bearing in mind the subject matter of the enquiry. I do not
discern any error on the part of the Secretary in this process. That
is not to say that the Secretary did or did not err in law in making
the decision which he did. That is a quite different matter which is
not to be examined on the hearing of this application which is solely
a challenge to the sufficiency of the section 13 statement.
13.
There is no substance in the criticism of paragraphs 20 and
26 of the section 13 statement. In my view paragraph 20 should be
construed as compendiously referring to the facts and circumstances
narrated in earlier paragraphs. Substantially the same considerations
apply to the criticism made of paragraph 26.
It is important to bear in mind that a great deal of the
material placed before the Secretary by East-West was material
supplied in confidence, the publication of which would reveal what
was asserted by East-West to be commercially confidential. No
challenge is made to the proposition that a lot of the material before
the Secretary answered this description. Section 13A of the Judicial
Review Act expressly provides that a decision-maker is not required to
include in a section 13 statement any information supplied in
confidence or the publication of which would reveal a trade secret or
otherwise answering the description of para. 13A(1)(b). It is
necessary, therefore, to approach the present application knowing that
precision in all statements of fact would be difficult as s. 13A
imposes constraints upon the matters which the Secretray is required
to include in the statements, much of which was treated as being
confidential.
I have a general impression that the statement supplied under
s. 13 in this case is a full statement which sufficiently describes
the basis upon which the Secretary made his decision. The Secretary's
process of reasoning is sufficiently set out, especially when it is
remembered that the task which clause 6(1)(c) vests in him is itself
of a general character, the adequate performance of which must be
determined by reference to the relevant facts as a whole.
14.
If the Secretary took irrelevant considerations into account
or failed to take relevant considerations into account or if his
decision involved an error of law or if a breach of the rules of
natural justice occurred in connection with the making of his decision
or if any of the other grounds for review specified in s. 5 of the
Judicial Review Act applied to the making of his decision, the section
13 statement sufficiently enables Ansett to chart its course and
determine whether a challenge to the decision is justified.
In the light of these findings it is not necessary for me to
deal with the submissions of counsel for the Secretary that, if I had
reached a contrary conclusion, I should refuse relief to Ansett in the
exercise of the Court's discretion.
Finally, I should say that all I am considering in the
present application is the sufficiency of the Secretary's section 13
statement. I am not considering the validity of the statement itself
or whether any of the grounds upon which Ansett relies in support of
its substantive application to challenge the statement are soundly
based or not.
I would dismiss the application with costs.
| certity that ths and the Mudeen
preced.1g razzs avo a tue cory cf the
Reas.-3 fs Sacre eci ese 7 ey 1S Honour
J
LAssociate
Counsel and solicitors for
Ansett Transport Industries
(Operations) Limited
Counsel and solicitors for
the Secretary of the
Department of State for
Aviation
e
Date of Hearing:
Date of Judgment:
15.
J.D. Merralis 0.C. with
J.G. Santamaria instructed by
Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks
D. Graham 0.C. with
J.E. Middleton instructed by
Australian Government Solicitor
27 March 1987
10 April 1987
°
os
TATEMENT MADE PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OF THE
ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS (CUDICIAL REVIEW) ACT 1977
SYDNEY/YULARA/ PERTH
RAE MARTIN TAYLOR, Secretary to the Department of Aviation,
hereby stafe:
q
in this statement =
"East+West" means East-West Airlines (Operations) Limited;
"the Agreement" means the Agreement raferred to in section =
of the Airlines Agreement Act 1981;
"Australian Airlines" means the Australian National Airlines
conn
"Ansett" means Ansett Transport Industries Linited;
"the Secratary" means the Secretary to the Department of
Aviation:
"runk route centre"? means a trunk reute cantre for the
purpoges of the Agreement}
"prascribed route" means a prescribed route for the purposes
of the Agreenent;
"the routes" means the successive prescribed routes of
Sydney/Yulara and Yulara/Perth.
On 31)October 1986 I came to the view that I was not
satisfied, for the purposes of paragraph 6(1){c) of tha
Agyeenent, that East-West's services over the routes wers
not predominantly for use for the purposes of carriage of
Passengers cver the separate prescribed routes Sydney/Yulara
and Yulara/Perth.
My figdings on material questions of fact, the evidence or
ether 'material on which those findings were based and the
reascnus for ny decision are set ous in the following
paragraphs,
The routes are, for the purposes of the Agreanant,
successive prescribed routes which have the effect of
winking the trunk roctes centres of Sydney and Perth.
5,
Following examination of the operations of East-West over
the routes, the then Secretary, Mr C W Freeland was
satisfied that East-West's scheduled passenger alr sezxvics::
over @ routes were not predominantly for use for the
purpoge of the carriage of passengers over separate
prescribed routes and were to a significant extent used for
the pirpose of carriage of passengers between the trunk
route |centres Sydney and Perth.
On 13
tha p
conce
August 1985, the then Secratary advised Fast-West and
reies to the Agreement of the view he had coms to
ning the operations of East-West over the routes.
est now provides three scheduled passenger air
es per weex over the routes departing from Sydney and
each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. These services azc
led in the follewing manner:
Flight 55
30 PER 0001
AYQ 03200 AYQ 0220
AYQ 0245 AYQ 0250 .
PER 0$25 SYD 0600 :
AcHrough flight 1s made over the routes by the sane
adreraft in each direction, and the sama flight number is
Total|travel time Zor through passengers is 6 hours
§5 minutes westbound and 6 hours eastbound. Travel on
aizect Ansett and Australian Airlines flights takes 4 heurs
38 ainutes westbound and 3 hours 85 zinutes eastbound.
However, Ansett and Australsan Airlines flights via
Melbourne and Melbourne/Adelaide may take up te an
additional two hours, depending on connections.
East-Wese's intention, which haa been publicly stated, is to
devalop Yulara as a major tourist destination,
naasyees adopted the timetable because of:
ehe restriction on the Yulara air strip which maxes i:
operationally prudent for the Yulara/Sydnay service cs
operate at night to avoid high tamperatures. The
operation of day services to Yulara would further
reatrict pay lead, with further adverse impact on the
viability of che services;
s) the curfew at Mascot for both departures and arrivals
which limita the times of night at which Yulara can »e
served;
e) the demand on the jet fleet during she day which makes
off-peak night time utiiisaticn essentia:.
Joa
=?
12.
13.
14.7°
1s.
17.
. East-West uses Fokker F28=-4000 aircraft with a maximum
- seating capacity for 72 passengers to provide: these
- scheduled passenger air services. However depending upon
the time of the year East-West's services over the route
Sydney/Yulara or Yulara/Sydney are payload restricted. The
- erage available capacity per flight over this sector :s
59.5 passengers over the full year,
Bast-West has administrative arrangezentsa in force which
impos@ restrictions on the acceptance of bookings for
Sydney/Perth passengers.
East-West's published timetable lists services between
Sydney and Yulara, Perth and Yulara, and Sydney and Yerth
with one stop.
The general thrust of East-West's advertising and
promotional material appears to be aimed primarily at
promotion of tourist travel to Yulara. East-West advised
that with certain exceptions it was intanded there should sa
no futher advertising of the service between Sydney and
Perth
statistics showed, amongst other things, that when the
s for each of the months January to August 1986 ara
ed with the figures for each of the equivalens months
5, the level of sector traffic as a proportion of
salltraffic carried by East-West has increased markediy.
this rend has been maintained daspite competition from
Ansstt's regional airlines over routes to and from Yulara
sinca)|August 1985.
compa
in 19
Tharelis a range of airfares, including discount and
'concessional fares, available for travel on Ansett
- tineliding its operating Divisions), Australian Airlines an:
East-West with varying conditions applicable to these
fares
In it@ Coat Allocation Review of July 1983, the Independent
Air Fares Committee indicated, amongst other things, that
fares;for the routes had been approved an the basis that
Zast-West''s through passenger traffic over tha routes was
predominantly of a 'top up! nature.
Statistics were provided by East-West on the threugh and
oe passengers carried on the services. These
Since!August 1985 Ansett WA has operated a once-weexly
Perthf{Yulara/Sydney return service, and since April 1986 Air
New South Wales has operated a once-weekly Sydney/Broken
Hill/Yulara return service.
19.
20,
whe
East-West carries out maintenance on its alreraft in
Tamwouth; New South Wales, and so requires frequent transtio:
of aivcraft between its intrastate operations in Western
Kustralia, and Tamworth. This transfer is effected in the
cours@ of operating scheduled passenger air services over
the successive prescribed routes. .
The facts and circumstances which now prevail in relation ¢s
East-West's services over the routes are different fron
those jwhich prevailed in August 1985 when the. forser
Secretary considered those routes, 7
EVIDEN bd r = BAST
21.
The foregoing findings of fact were based on:e
(a) a submission annotated 'commercialein-conZidance'
- .iprepared within the Department for my consideration
~-~.jand gigned by the First Assistant Secretary, Domestic
: 7 [Paldey Divisien. The submission consisted of a minutes
dated 22 October 1986 entitled "CONSIDERATION UNDER
i*- PARA 6(1)(¢) OF 1981 AIRLINES AGREEMENT OF EAST=<WEST'S
a iSYDNEY/YULARA, YULARA/ PERTH SERVICES" together with a
series of Attachments marked A to G as follcws:
Attachment A being
4) a sequence of events after the forner
Secratary's decision of 13 August 1985
concerning East-West's Sydney/Yulaca,
Yulara/Ferth services
ii) ehe former Secretary's consideration of Eas<-
West's services in terms of paragraph 6(1)(¢) of
the Agreezent
iii} relevant correspondence and other pagers relaced
to the status cf the services under paragraph
6(1)(¢) of the Agreement including the
following.
- 13 August 1985 cerrespondence advising EZaste
West and the parties to the Agreement of t14
former Secretary's paragraph 6(1) (c)
decisions
- 23 September 1985 telex from East-West to
1 Acting Secretary Rainbird providing ssecizi:
! information regarding its Sydnay/Yulara,
Yulara/Prerth servicas
18 October 1985 telex from the former
Secretary to East-West advising that the
evidence provided by East-West was not
sufficient to change his determination and
that it would not be appropriate for him tec
raview his decision except on the basis of
fundamentally new avidence which, prima
fucie, could result in a different
conelusion
12 November 1985 letter from Fast-West to
the former Secretary regarding East-West's
Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Perth services
8 September 1986 letter from Fast-Wast <9 ne
providing information about its
Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Perth services
9 September 1986 letter from me to East-West
requesting further information ragarding its
Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Perth services
19 September 1986 letter from East-West to
me providing further information as
requested in my 9 September 1586 lettar
30 September 1986 letter from East-West
providing further information
2 October 1936 letter from Fast-West to tho
Department of Aviation supplying advartisine
material
13 October 1986 telex from EZast-Waat
confirming advice regarding East-West's
booking pactices on its Sydnev/Yulara,
Yulara/Perth services
statements of corporate policy sy East-Wese
(eg joint media statenents nade by East-
West in conjunction with the Sneratcen Ayers
Rock Hotel in early 1988; East-West's
submission of August 1935 to the Inderendens
Review of Economic Regulaticn of Domas<ci
Aviation).
Attachment 3 being pages 38-60 cf Mr Justice
Leckhart's 15 September 1986 Reasons for Judgement in
Ansett Transport Industries Limited, Australian
National Airlines Commission versus the Commonwealth
of Australia and Ors (unreported, 13/9/86).
ae
+ being a table of East-Wast's scnecdule for
Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Perth and East-west's
published timetable.
¥
(c)
(4)
(@)
Attachment D being
4) table of East-West, Australian Airlines and
Ansett air fares
ii) a two page explanation of discount air fare
conditions
iii) pages 1437 and 1438 of transcript of Federal
r Court proceedings referred to in Attachment 3
above.
Attachment £ being
r)- commercial-in-confidance table showing East-Wess
"7s revenue passengers Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Preren
from December 1984 to August 1966
ii) graph taken from above statistics
Attachment F being a nistory of services and fares
over the Sydney/Yulara and Yulara/PFerth routes
'(marked "commercialein-confidence") as well as
extracts from variecus Ansett and Australian Airlines
timetables.
Attachment G seing July 1985 Cost Ariocation Raview
for East-Weat.
26 October 1986 minute from Assistant Secretary,
Domestic Regulation Branch, to ma advising dn relation
|to fares offered by East-West on its Sydney/Yulara,
'¥ulara/Perth route and attaching passenger statistic
taple and legal advices.
27 October 1986 minutes from Assistant Sacretary,
Domestic Regulation Branch, to me providing advice
requested on return Apex fare between Sydney/Yulara.
28 October 1986 minutes from First Asaissant Secretary,
'Domestic Policy Division, to me repiying to ny
27 October request (attached) for any further
advertising material.
21 March 1986 letter (facsimile) from East-West to
Assistant Secretary, Domestic Reguiation Branch.
2 April 1986 sranacript of letter from Ansett to ne
regarding East-Wase's Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/rerth
services.
RE
22e
23.
24.
25.
(9)
(ny:
(iy
- )
N
Secre
-7 =
,7 April 1986 commarcial- ineconfidence minute fron
'Pirse Assistant Secratary, Domestic Policy Division,
-(to me regarding Australian Airlines proposad action is
relation to East-West.
Schedule of Sydney/Yulara, Yulara/Perth air fares
effective 1 October 1986,
-"Z7 October 1986 facsimile messaje from che Independent
Air Fares Committee advising of certain fares. <
'Pile of the material available so Mr Freeland at the
time of the making of his decision of 13 August 1985.
ary must be satistied as to two mattars tefora the
secretary 6(1)(¢) of the Agreement requires that the
opera
"(a)
ion of paragraph 6(1)(b) is displaced:
"that the scheduled passenger air servicas of Fast-Wes<
iwaich have the effect of linking two trunk route
"Centras are not predominantly for use for the purpesa
-et-the carriaga of passengers over separate prescrice:
routes?
"that those air servicas ara to a significant extent
7) used or to be used for the purpese of carriage of
passengers between two trunk centres.
Having been asked by Zast-Wast to recensider the views
reachad by Mr Freeland, the former Secretary, concerning tes
operapions over the routes, I had ragard to all vralevant
corragpondence, documenta and other informaticn available ts
me,
dete
including certain particular decumentation such as the
ination of the former Secretary, the information upon
which) that determination was based, further information
supplied by Zast-wWest following that determination and
correspondence from Ansett and Australian Airlines.
Tha starting point ef my examination was tne sosition
reached by the former Secretary in August 1995 in respect 2
Services over the routes. It was necessary for ne to
acquire a full knowledge of the information which was befor:
nim and to accept the view which the farmer Secretary had
formed for tne purpeses of paragraph 6(1)(¢) of ths
Agreenent.
T tcoK the question for me, in reconsidering the issues
raised by paragraph 6(1)(¢c) at the time when I reached «ne
dacision in October 1986, to be the same question
addressed by the former Secretary in August 1988, and it hac
to be answered by me in the light of all the in? formation
availiable to me and the circumstances which prevailed at er:
tise
f my decision.
26.- Given ithe different facts and circumstances which pravalicd
' time of my dacision as compared to those which
Jed at the time of the former Secretary's decision,
sx. for me was to decide whether I was satisfied of tho
nee of the two matters specified in paragraph
).
the view that, if I were disposed to a-differsnt
ten to that reached by the former Secretary as to @.-
e of the services over the routes, it was not
ary for me to be positively satisfied to tha converse
conclusions reached ky nin.
regard to the foregoing findings of fact and to thse
nce upon which those findings were based I reached the
sion that I was not satisfied that East-West's
led passenger air services cover the reutes were not
.-- pradoninantly for use for the purpose of the carriage of
passengers over the separate prescrised routes Sydney/Yulara
and Yulara/rerth,
ng taken the view stated in paragraph 28 on the matter
ified in subsparagraph 22(a), it was not necassary to
ar the matter specified in sub-paragraph 22(>).
_—
RM TAYLOR
SECRETARY
19 January |1987
This and the preceding seven (7)
pages are the schedule referred to
in the reasons for judgment of
his Honour Mr. Justice Lockhart
dated 10 April 1987.
Dated: /g 4 $F. Mire'
Associate