State border closures illegal under the highest law in the country?

bigbadbyrnes

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Posts
273
Everything is arguable in law, doubly so in constitutional law. This is a matter for the high court.

But here's my opening argument;

Section 92 of the highest law in the country sets out "On the imposition of uniform duties of customs, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free. "

Per Cole vs Whitfield 1988 "The notions of absolutely free trade and commerce and absolutely free intercourse are quite distinct". Sec92 clearly sets out the law for interstate trade, but also 'intercourse'.

And on the matter of what intercourse means, per Gratwick v Johnson 1945 it's the ability "to pass to and fro among the States without burden, hindrance or restriction".

Border closures, (and arguably although less certainly isolation requirements), are therefore inconsistent with the highest law in the country and should be set aside.

No one is talking about it, any legal eagles here explain? There's no room on the news for this at the moment, but if people start to fed up with the restrictions, it's worth getting them tested in the high court.

edit:

I think this analysis will answer all your questions: States are shutting their borders to stop coronavirus. Is that actually allowed?

Short version: if there are good public health grounds (for example states of emergency), those laws are likely to be held valid.

Could be worth testing if an individual could be proven to be not a thread to public health, but that would be the exception. Thanks MEL_Traveller for sharing the article.

/thread
 
Last edited:
Well the fact that the courts went against corona distancing laws means anything is up for grabs so borders should be a piece of cake :rolleyes:
 
Well the fact that the courts went against corona distancing laws means anything is up for grabs so borders should be a piece of cake :rolleyes:
But nothing has got to the High Court yet, has it?
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

But as the WA and QL:D governments basically have to file their medical advice by the 26th June so we can all see it is a possibility we will see borders open from early July.
The cynic in me says it will be announced on June 25 so that Clive has done his money.
 
But as the WA and QL:D governments basically have to file their medical advice by the 26th June so we can all see it is a possibility we will see borders open from early July.
The cynic in me says it will be announced on June 25 so that Clive has done his money.

X2
 
I’d say that it’s all about Clive feeling unloved/snubbed. Poor soul.

From what I heard, when he applied for an exemption he refused to state where he was going. Other CEOs have been in and out of WA, they just have to tell police who / where they are meeting.
 
Well the fact that the courts went against corona distancing laws means anything is up for grabs so borders should be a piece of cake :rolleyes:

I think the issue was that the police had initially agreed to the protest, rather than around the validity of the distancing rules.
 
Perhaps, but I suspect many are hoping it works in opening things up sooner.
Yes, many are, but Clive in the High Court is not because he cares about you, me or any others. ☹️
 
From what I heard, when he applied for an exemption he refused to state where he was going. Other CEOs have been in and out of WA, they just have to tell police who / where they are meeting.
And there we have it.
 
But as the WA and QL:D governments basically have to file their medical advice by the 26th June so we can all see it is a possibility we will see borders open from early July.
The cynic in me says it will be announced on June 25 so that Clive has done his money.

WA has changed from saying -not for many months- to -not until late July at the earliest-
A bit of a shift...
 
Sponsored Post

Struggling to use your Frequent Flyer Points?

Frequent Flyer Concierge takes the hard work out of finding award availability and redeeming your frequent flyer or credit card points for flights.

Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, the Frequent Flyer Concierge team at Frequent Flyer Concierge will help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

While everyone is out protesting, and otherwise generally ignoring social distancing - I'd rather the borders stay closed!! At least until there's close to zero community transmissions, for a two week period.

NSW has almost achieved that and Victoria is starting to achieve that as well. I think by the end of the month we could be able to achieve zero community transmissions that allows us to reopen the borders in time for the winter holidays.
 
While everyone is out protesting, and otherwise generally ignoring social distancing - I'd rather the borders stay closed!! At least until there's close to zero community transmissions, for a two week period.
NSW has almost achieved that and Victoria is starting to achieve that as well. I think by the end of the month we could be able to achieve zero community transmissions that allows us to reopen the borders in time for the winter holidays.
Apparently today was the first day of no local transmission. All new cases were of people coming from overseas.
 
Apparently today was the first day of no local transmission. All new cases were of people coming from overseas.

Good! Let's keep that up for at least two weeks, with continued testing for those who might be asymptomatic, and then we can assess whether to start considering any intention to open the borders!!
 
assess whether to start considering any intention to open the borders!!
I’d hope we can progress a bit quicker than assessing whether we would consider any intention...

This situation is untenable economically and may see VA liquidate as a result. The state premiers are able to close the borders and transfer the economic cost to the federal government. The states cannot be allowed to do this indefinitely.
 

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top