Young Mining Company Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales [2023] NSWSC 582

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Young Mining Company Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales [2023] NSWSC 582 Hearing dates: 26 May 2023 Date of orders: 29 May 2023 Decision date: 29 May 2023 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Garling J Decision: See [41] Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE — application for urgent interlocutory relief — balance of convenience — where defendant published on the website of the NSW Resources Regulator an investigation report and incident animation — where report and animation related to an incident at a mine operated by the plaintiff — where plaintiff sought that the report and animation be removed from website — whether to grant plaintiff's application for relief — application refused Legislation Cited: Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 Cases Cited: Not Applicable Texts Cited: Not Applicable Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Young Mining Company Pty Ltd (P) State of New South Wales (D) Representation: Counsel: P Afshar (P) N Read (D)

Solicitors: Mahony Law (P) McCullough Robertson Lawyers (D) File Number(s): 2023/155162 Publication restriction: Not Applicable

JUDGMENT 1. In these proceedings, Young Mining Company Pty Ltd ("Young Mining") seeks relief against the State of NSW ("the State") on an interlocutory basis. The proceedings concern an investigation report and incident animation both relating to an injury to a worker which occurred in the course of the operations of the Thuddungra Mine near Young, NSW, on 10 August 2021. The report and animation were published by the State on 10 May 2023 on the website of the NSW Resources Regulator ("the Regulator"). 2. Young Mining claims, on an interlocutory basis, relief against the State, which is sued in respect of the conduct of the Regulator. The Regulator is a statutory office created by the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013. Young Mining seeks an order to require the Regulator to remove from its website the report and animation and to be restrained from causing or permitting the report to be further published until a final hearing of the proceedings. 3. The State opposes the relief sought. It argues that the relief would not be available as a matter of law or as a matter of the exercise of the Court's powers of judicial review. Accordingly, it argues that there is no proper basis for any interlocutory relief.