Tudehope v Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division) [2010] NSWSC 1210

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Tudehope v Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division) [2010] NSWSC 1210

HEARING DATE(S) : 16 September 2010 JURISDICTION : Equity Division

JUDGMENT OF : Brereton J

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 16 September 2010

DECISION : Decline the application for interim injunction restraining holding of preselection meeting

CATCHWORDS : EQUITY – Equitable remedies – Injunctions – Interlocutory injunctions – Relevant considerations – voluntary associations – political party – where injunction sought to restrain preselection meeting – where matter had been determining adversely to plaintiff by internal dispute resolution mechanism – Balance of convenience generally – whether the defendant would suffer prejudice where opponent is elected and gains incumbency advantage – whether court should intervene before meeting absent manifest error in internal dispute resolution processes

CATEGORY : Procedural and other rulings

Baldwin v Everingham [1993] 1 Qd R 10 CASES CITED : Cameron v Hogan (1934) 51 CLR 358 Coleman v Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division) [2007] NSWSC 655

PARTIES : Damien Tudehope (plaintiff) Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division) (defendant)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 10/312716

COUNSEL : John Agius SC (plaintiff) Philippe Doyle Gray (defendant)

SOLICITORS : Low Doherty & Stratford (plaintiff) Garland Hawthorn Brahe (defendant)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION DUTY LIST

BRERETON J

Thursday, 16 September 2010

2010/312716 Damien Tudehope v Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division) JUDGMENT (ex tempore) 1 HIS HONOUR: The present application is made before formal institution of proceedings for an interim injunction, restraining the defendant Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division), from holding a meeting of the selection committee for the State Electoral Conference for the electorate of Baulkham Hills, until further order, pending the hearing of the substantive application for declarations that a meeting of the Baulkham Hills Young Liberal branch held on 23 June 2010 was valid and duly elected certain selectors for the State Electoral Conference, and/or a declaration that a purported meeting of that branch conducted on 8 September 2010, which purportedly elected other selectors for the State Electoral Conference, was invalid.