If the consent orders are that the application be sent back to the JA then NOPTA currently has no further role. It is probable that Madeline King may ask NOPTA for some additional advice as I believe her goal will be to try and find a way to decline the application. She will need to be very careful due to her existing bias. Her involvement in the Federal court case points to her not stepping aside which is quite interesting. She will need to keep this ruling from the Pathfinder case front and centre of her considerations:-
In a joint memorandumsubmitted by solicitors for all parties it was conceded that the Court may find that the delegateswho comprised the Joint Authority for the purposes of making the decisions under review hadapplied the Guideline inflexibly as to matters relating to commercial risks and force majeurein particular respects stated in the joint memorandum. It is well established that adecision-maker making a decision by reference to a policy instrument must not apply the policyinflexibly without regard to whether the particular circumstances may justify a departure frompolicy: Re Drake and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No 2) [1979] AATA 179;(1979) 2 ALD 634 at 640-641.
GBA Price at posting:
2.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
