O'Keefe v Country Roads Board [1931] HCA 4

45 C.L.R.] OF AUSTRALIA. {HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.] O'KEEFE é i ss z é : - APPLICANT ; CoMPLAINAN?,

AND

THE COUNTRY ROADS BOARD DrrenpDant.

RESPONDENT.

ON REMOVAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA.

Constitutional Law—Inconsistency of State law and Commonwealth legislation—Relief H. C. or A.

by State' of unemployment—Rate of wage—Applicability of Federal award— Order nisi to review decision of Court of Petty Sessions—Removal from Supreme Court of State to High Court — Order nisi remitted to Supreme Court — Unemployment Relief Act 1930 (Vict.) (No. 3866), sec. 7—Unemployment Relief Amendment Act 1930 (Vict.) (No. 3948), secs. 6, 8, 9* Commonwealth Concilia- tion and Arbitration Act 1904-1928 (No. 13 of 1904—No. 18 of 1928)—Judiciary Act 1903-1927 (No. 6 of 1903—No. 9 of 1927), secs. 40, 40a, 42 —The Constitution (63 & 64 Vict. c. 12), sec. 109.

By virtue of the Unemployment Relief Amendment Act 1930 (Vict.) an Unemployment Relief Works Board was created to deal with unemployment within the State of Victoria, and the Board was empowered (inter alia) to fix rates of pay for work done under the scheme, A list of relief works recommended by that Board, and approved by the State Government, was forwarded to the Country Roads Board of the State, and money for wages earned on such

* The Unemployment Relief Amend- ment Act 1930 (Vict.) provides, by sec. 9, as follows :—"(1) The Governor in Council may appoint a board to be called the Unemployment Relief Works Board (hereinafter 'referred to as 'the Board'). . . . (6) The daily rate of pay of, and the work allotted to, persons employed on any works for the relief of unemployment shalll in all cases he as recommended by the Board but

shall not be greater than—(a) In the case of work outside the metropolis the lowest monetary equivalent of the index figure published by the Common- wealth Statistician relating to the cost of living and representing the weighted average for four towns in Victoria (excluding the capital city) in respect of the quarter ended fe thirtieth day of September one thousand nine hundred and thirty."