Australian Broadcasting Tribunal v Bond [1990] HCA 33

High Court of Australia Mason C.J. Brennan, Deane, Toohey and Gaudron JJ. Australian Broadcasting Tribunal v Bond [1990] HCA 33

ORDER Appeal allowed with costs. Set aside the orders of the Full Court of the Federal Court and in lieu thereof order that the applications for orders of review be dismissed with costs. Applications for special leave to cross-appeal refused with costs.

Cur. adv. vult.

The following written judgments were delivered:—

July 26 Mason C.J.

This appeal is brought from orders made by the Full Court of the Federal Court by way of judicial review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 Cth ("the A.D.(J.R.) Act") of various decisions, findings and rulings made by the appellant, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ("the Tribunal"), in an inquiry which it held under s. 17C(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1942 Cth ("the Act").

The respondents are Mr. Alan Bond (the first respondent), Mr. David Aspinall (the fifth respondent), Bond Corporation Holdings Ltd. (the third respondent) ("B.C.H."), of whose Bond Media Division Mr. Aspinall is the Chief Executive, Queensland Television Ltd. (the sixth respondent) ("Q.T.L."), of which Mr. Aspinall was at all material times Executive Director, and five other companies associated with Mr. Bond. The relationship which exists between Mr. Bond and the companies, including Q.T.L., and between the companies themselves is set out in the reasons for judgment prepared by Toohey and Gaudron JJ. For present purposes it is sufficient to say that, by reason of his shareholding in Dallhold Investments Pty. Ltd. (the second respondent) ("Dallhold"), Mr. Bond is able to determine the composition of the boards of directors of Bond Media Ltd. (the fourth respondent) ("Bond Media") and the sixth to ninth respondents. They are subsidiaries, at one or more removes, of Bond Media and are the holders of commercial licences under the Act. Q.T.L. holds a commercial television licence for station QTQ-9, Brisbane. Consolidated Broadcasting System (W.A.) Pty. Ltd. (the seventh respondent) is the licensee of radio stations 6AM and 6KG. North West Radio Pty. Ltd. (the eighth respondent) holds the commercial licences for radio stations 6KA and 6NW and Darwin Broadcasters Pty. Ltd. (the ninth respondent) holds the commercial licence for radio station 8DN.