Re John Dee (Export) Pty. Limited & Ors [1990] ATPT 2
Federal Court of Australia
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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION DP
IMMONWE. 'H_OF ¥y
r E_P TICE T 7
N THE T E_PRACTICE RIBUN. NSW 5 of 1987
: RE: HN Ee POR .
4 VEC ' LIMITED & ORS.
TONY D
~ Applicants
14 JUL 1999
veut. COURT OF RE: Application for a Review of
AUSTRALIA a Determination made the ade
awa Practices ommissio dated
October 1987
6 December 1990
MINUTE OF ORDER
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:
1.
The Commission and its officers be granted leave to use and
refer to the documents produced to the Tribunal by the
Victorian Stock Agents' Association ("VSAA") and comprising
exhibit 22 in these proceedings, together with the
information contained in or derived from such documents,
for the purposes of considering and deciding whether the
Commission should make a determination pursuant to s. 91(4)
of the frade Practices Act 1974 revoking the authorisation
granted to the VSAA in respect of its Rules on 20 May 1983
and/or the authorisation granted by the Commission to the
New South Wales Stock and Station Agents Association ("the
SSAA") in respect of its Rules on 11 September 1984.
The Commission and its officers be granted leave to use and
refer to the documents produced to the Tribunal by the SSAA
we
and comprising exhibit 18 in these proceedings, together
with the information contained in or derived from such
documents, for the purposes of considering and deciding
whether the Commission should make a determination pursuant
to s. 91(4) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 revoking the
authorisation granted to the VSAA in respect of its Rules
on 20 May 1983 and/or the authorisation granted by the
Commission to the SSAA in respect of its Rules on il
September 1984.
The Commission and its officers be granted leave to use,
disclose to the VSAA, and refer to, the documents tendered
in evidence before the Tribunal by John Dee (Export) Pty
Limited and comprising exhibits 23, 24 and 25 in these
proceedings, together with the information contained in or
derived from such documents, for the purposes of
considering and deciding whether the Commission should make
a determination pursuant to s. 91(4) of the Trade Practices
Act 1974 revoking the authorisation granted to the VSAA in
respect of its Rules on 20 May 1983 and/or the
authorisation granted by the Commission to the SSAA in
respect of its Rules on 11 September 1984.
The Tribunal grants leave to the Victorian Stock Agents
Association to inspect exhibits 23, 24 and 25, and in
addition to inspect exhibit 18, but until further order
limits inspection of exhibit 18 to counsel and solicitors
for the Association, and the information contained in the
exhibit and the exhibit itself are to remain confidential
to the counsel and solicitors for the Association.
The Tribunal also grants leave to the Stock and Station
Agents Association of New South Wales to inspect exhibit 22
but until further order the inspection should be limited to
counsel and solicitors for the Association and the exhibit
and its contents are to be kept confidential to them and
not be disclosed to other persons.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION
MMONWEALTH AUST I
T E T ACT, 197
IN THE T&T E_PRACTI TRIBUNAL NSW 5 of 1987
RE: HN DEE XPORT PTY.
LIMITED & ORS.
Applicants
RE: Application for a Review of
a Determination made by the Trade
Practices Commission dated 1
ctober 1987
6 December 1990
RE NS FOR DECISION
LOCKHART J. (President)
The matter of John Dee (Export) Pty. Limited was before the
Tribunal some time ago. In the course of that hearing the
Tribunal made (on 1 September 1988) certain confidentiality
orders with respect to documents that were produced and tendered
in the proceedings. They included documents which became
exhibits 18, 22, 23, 24 and 25.
The Trade Practices Commission now applies to the Tribunal
for orders in effect varying those confidentiality orders by
permitting the Commission and its officers to have a wider use
of the documents included in the exhibits to which I have
referred than that use which it says is covered by the
confidentiality orders.
I have, I must confess, some doubt as to whether the orders
made on 1 September 1988 bind the Commission at all, but if that
be so, then the Commission applies for more abundant caution and
that is an understandable application. It is right that in cases
of doubt the Commission seeks to resolve it by an application of
this kind.
There is no objection taken by any of the persons interested
in the documents who are represented today to the substance of
the orders sought by the Commission, but certain protection is
sought by the interested bodies; in particular, the Stock and
Station Agents Association of New South Wales and its Victorian
counterpart.
In effect, what is sought to be done is to limit the access
of the Commission to the documents to prospective use of the
information contained in them in such a way as to hamper the
Commission using the information in relation to any steps it
might already have initiated pursuant to its powers under the
Trade Practices Act 1974. It is further sought to limit the
Commission's access to certain of the documents to inspection by
solicitors and counsel.
The Commission's orders as framed in the application filed
on 19 November 1990 make it clear that the Commission wishes to
use exhibit 22, and the information contained in it, to consider
and decide whether it should make a determination pursuant to s.
91(4) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 revoking the authorisation
already granted to the Victorian Stock Agents Association and the
authorisation granted by it to the New South Wales Stock and
Station Agents Association, in respect of their rules on 11
September 1984. Similar orders are sought in relation to exhibit
18 and orders of a slightly different character are sought in
relation to exhibits 23, 24 and 25.
In my opinion the application is a proper one and should be
acceded to. I think there is sufficient protection for any
interested party built into the framework of the orders as
formulated by the Commission in the application. Accordingly,
the Court makes orders 1, 2 and 3 as asked in the application of
the Commission filed on 19 November 1990.
The Court makes by consent of John Dee (Export) Pty. Limited
and the Stock and Station Agents Association of New South Wales,
the two orders set out in the minute of order signed by me, dated
today and placed with the papers.
In addition to the order previously made granting the
Commission access to certain exhibits, the Tribunal grants leave
to the Victorian Stock Agents Association to inspect exhibits 23,
24 and 25, and in addition to inspect exhibit 18, but in the case
of that exhibit such inspection being limited to counsel and
solicitors for the Association, and the information gained from
inspection of exhibit 18 and exhibit 18 itself are to remain
confidential to the counsel and solicitors for the Association
until further order.
The Tribunal also grants leave to the Stock and Station
Agents Association of New South Wales to inspect exhibit 22.
Also in the case of exhibit 22, I further direct that the
inspection by the Stock and Station Agents Association of New
South Wales should be limited to the counsel and solicitors for
that Association, and the exhibit and its contents are to be kept
confidential to them and not be disclosed to other persons.
I decline to make order 1 as asked in the notice of motion
ef the Victorian Stock Agents Association as, in my opinion, it
would not be a proper limitation to impose on the Commission.
If the Commission should seek to use any of the exhibits, to
which reference has been made, for the purpose of furthering its
case in any action or proceedings it may previously have taken,
then the extent to which it can do so is a matter to be
appropriately determined, I think, by the Tribunal or Court
before whom that matter should arise.
I certify that this and the
preceding three (3) pages are a
true copy of the reasons for
judgment herein of the Honourable
Mr. Justice Lockhart.
Associate re,
Dated: 6 December 1990
Counsel for John Dee
(Exports) Pty Limited
Solicitors for John Dee
(Exports) Pty Limited
Counsel for Trade Practices
Commission
Solicitors for Trade
Practices Commission
Counsel for the Victorian
Stock Agents Association
Solicitors for the Victorian
Stock Agents Association
Date of Hearing
Date of Decision
es
Mr Campion
Allen Allen & Hemsley
Mr J Hilton
Australian Government
Solicitor
Miss C L Sinclair
Blake Dawson Waldron
6 December 1990
6 December 1990