ATHANASIOS MARINAKIS V. GENERAL MOTORS-HOLDEN'S PTY LTD

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ASIOS MARINAK:

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Oral Judgment delivered at...

September 1969 0

CadarKea—atir

ATHANASIOS MARINAKIS

ve

GENERAL MOTORS-HOLDEN'S PTY. LTD.

ORDER

Application for special leave to

appeal refused.

ATHANASIOS MARINAKTS

GENERAL MOTORS-HOLDEN'S PTY. LTD.

ATHANASIOS MARINAKIS

wv

GENERAL MOTORS-HOLDEN'S PTY. LTD.

In my opinion this is not a case for special leave. The employer applied for an order of redemption under s. 28 of the Workmens' Compensation Act, 1932-1966. That order, the order of redemption, was clearly not as of right. Whether or not it should be made was a matter for the discretion of the arbitrator in this sense, that he could decide that he would not make the order because he was not satisfied as to the point of time at which the workman would cease to be entitled to a continuance of the weekly payments which were then current.

In this case the liability of the employer was stabilized in the sense that the amount of the weekly payments was fixed and was likely to continue, if nothing further was done, for some time. The question for the arbitrator was a question of fact, namely whether he could determine the point of time at which the workman would cease to be entitled to a continuance of those weekly payments.

On the material before him the arbitrator felt that he was able to determine this question, no doubt principally upon the medical evidence which he accepted. Having determined the point of time at which the. workman would, in his opinion, cease to be entitled toa continuance

of the weekly payments, the arbitrator was certainly entitled to make the order of redemption. Indeed, once he had made

that decision and fixed the time at which the workman would cease to be entitled to a continuance of the weekly payments, in my opinion, he would be bound to make the order at the