Attorney-General (WA) v Marquet

Constitutional law (WA) – State Parliament – Powers – Manner and form provisions – Electoral Distribution Act 1947 (WA), s 13.

Parliament – Parliament of a State – Constitutional law (State) – Justiciability – Whether questions arising out of parliamentary consideration of Bills in the Chambers of a State Parliament appropriate for review by courts and judicial determination.

Statutes – Construction – Electoral Distribution Act 1947 (WA), s 13 – Any Bill to "amend" that Act to be passed by a special majority – Whether s 13 applied to either the Electoral Distribution Repeal Bill 2001 (WA) or the Electoral Amendment Bill 2001 (WA) or both – Whether either of those Bills was a Bill to "amend" the Electoral Distribution Act 1947 – Meaning of "amend" – Significance of distinction between "amend" and "repeal".

Statutes – Construction – Whether terms of statute ambiguous – Where different interpretations in contention – Applicable interpretative principles to resolve ambiguity – Whether construction favouring the grant of legislative power and protection of civil and human rights available and applicable.

Statutes – Manner and form provisions – Power of a State parliament to bind its successors – Whether s 6 of the Australia Act 1986 (Cth) applied so as to require compliance with s 13 of the Electoral Distribution Act 1947 – Whether the two Bills affected "the constitution, powers or procedure" of the Western Australian Parliament.

Constitution (Cth) – Provisions concerning Constitution of a State and Parliament of a State – Manner and form provisions – Whether provisions of State law "entrenched" – Effect of Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (UK), s 5 – Effect of Australia Acts (Cth and UK), s 6 – Effect of Constitution, ss 51(xxxviii), 106 and 107.

Statutes – Construction – Implied repeal – Whether the Acts Amendment (Constitution) Act 1978 (WA) impliedly repealed s 13 of the Electoral Distribution Act 1947.

Parliament – Practice and procedure – Prorogation – Effect of prorogation on Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament but yet to receive Royal Assent.