Melbourne was the location for the High Court this week as it heard two challenges to the Federal Government’s planned postal survey on the merits of redefining the legal concept of marriage.
The two cases were lodged separately by the independent Member for Denison, Mr Andrew Wilkie MP and an alliance between the Australian Marriage Equality and Greens Parliamentarian, Senator Janet Rice.
Mr Ron Merkel QC, representing Mr Wilkie MP, was testing the method of funding the Government has used to pay for the postal survey. Believing it to be invalid, because it did not meet a criteria of “urgent” need, there were some tense moments on Wednesday as the Solicitor-General, Dr Stephen Donaghue QC, for the Commonwealth, appeared to contradict Mr Wilkie by pointing out that this same Government mechanism was used to fund an arts centre in his electorate, costing $4m in 2012, from the Gillard Government. Dr Donaghue QC said it was “hard to see” how funding for an arts centre could be seen as pressingly urgent.
On Thursday, 17 minutes into the final Question Time period of the week, news filtered into the House of Representatives Chamber that the High Court had handed down a unanimous judgment dismissing the two challenges and awarding costs against the plaintiffs.
Announcing the decision, the Chief Justice of the High Court, Her Honour Susan Kiefel AC, dismissed the plaintiffs’ challenges, and ordered them to pay costs. She said the Minister had acted within his right in authorising a $122m advance for the postal survey, telling the court “section 10 (of the Constitution), on its proper construction, did authorise the Finance Minister to make the determination”.
