Cox v Tomat [1972] HCA 10

High Court of Australia Barwick C.J. McTiernan, Menzies, Walsh and Gibbs JJ. Cox v Tomat [1972] HCA 10

ORDER Special leave granted. Appeal dismissed with costs.

Cur. adv. vult.

The following written judgments were delivered:—

1972, Feb. 24 Barwick C.J.

Section 8 of the Road Maintenance (Contribution) Act, 1965 W.A. (the Act) provides that the owner of every commercial goods vehicle shall pay to the Commissioner of Transport a charge at a prescribed rate towards compensation for wear and tear caused to roads in the State. The charge is due at the time the vehicle uses a road in the State and is a civil debt due to the Commissioner recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 9 of the Act requires the owner of a commercial goods vehicle to keep and retain for a period of six months a daily record in prescribed form of all journeys made by the vehicle along roads of the State.

Section 10 requires the owner not later than the fourteenth day of each month to deliver to the Commissioner the record of such journeys made by the vehicle during the preceding month and of the amount of money remaining due in respect of such journeys.

"Owner" is defined by the Act (s. 4) as follows:

"Owner" in relation to a commercial goods vehicle includes—

(a) a person who is the owner or joint owner or part owner thereof;

(b) a person who has the use thereof under a hiring or hire-purchase agreement; and

(c) a person in whose name the commercial goods vehicle is registered under the Traffic Act, 1919, or under any corresponding Act, Ordinance or legislation of any State or Territory of the Commonwealth,

but does not include an unpaid vendor of the commercial goods vehicle under a hire-purchase agreement.

Section 15 of the Act is in the following terms: