Notable Cases
A decision in which he ruled against re-employing forty five men by Mount Isa Mines Ltd led to an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from the Court. At the time, his wife held shares in the company. The decision was reviewed by the Full Court of the Supreme Court. The Full Court held that Hanger did not need to disqualify himself from hearing the matter as his wife’s shareholding was separate, and that the shareholding was minor in relation to the number of shares issued by the company.
In 1974 he heard the case of Lambert v McIntyre. This case concerned the refusal of a motorist to blow into a breathalyser machine to test whether the motorist had driven after drinking alcohol. The motorist refused to blow and the magistrate which heard the case dismissed it as the motorist refused to blow rather than failing to blow. Hanger discussed the difference on "refusing" and "failing to". He said that "the two words have not the same meaning. One may fail to do something without refusing; one may refuse to do something in words and yet do it." The motorist was found guilty of failing to blow.
In another notable case, Hanger ruled that “compulsory unionism” clauses in industrial awards could not be ordered by the State Industrial Commission.
Read more about this topic: Mostyn Hanger
Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or cases:
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