Author Archives: Graeme Hill

About Graeme Hill

Graeme Hill is at the Melbourne Bar, and practises in constitutional and administrative law. He is one of the authors to the 3rd edition of Hank's Constitutional Law. He teaches the law of intergovernmental relations and executive power in the masters program.

Williams [No 2] Symposium: Graeme Hill on Narrowing the Issues

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By Graeme Hill, Barrister

Williams [No 2] Case Page

The High Court delivered its judgment in Williams [No 2] only 6 weeks after the hearing, much more quickly than is usual in complex constitutional cases. One reason the Court was able to deliver its judgment so quickly was that the Court carefully narrowed the issues to be dealt with. The Court concentrated on whether the particular item in the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 (Cth) (FMA Regulations) that referred to the school chaplaincy program was supported by a head of Commonwealth legislative power. The Court’s negative answer to that question meant it was unnecessary to deal with the other arguments raised by the plaintiff.

The Court’s reasoning in this respect is orthodox and, I would suggest, appropriate in this case.

Narrowing the issues
Williams [No 2] considered the validity of the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act (No 3) 2012 (Cth) (FFLA Act), which was enacted days after, and in response to, the High Court’s judgment in Williams [No 1]. In outline, the FFLA Act amended the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) (FMA Act) and FMA Regulations in an attempt to confer statutory authority on the Commonwealth executive to make payments under existing grants and programs, including the school chaplaincy program. Continue reading →