FEDERAL BANKING CASE

Chronicle (Levin), 10 February 1948, Page 5

FEDERAL BANKING CASE

(N.Z.P.A.—

-Renter.

Big Array Of Legal Talent Taking Part

comirighl)

Received Monday,' 10.0 p.m. ' MELBpUfllPB, Feb, 0, The 1 right of ' Justiees, Sir liayden Starke and D, WilUaihs, to sjt at the ttigh Court hearing of the Bank Nationa,lisation ease, \yas unsueeessfuily chailepged ih the High Court today by : the Attorney'-Generalj Dr. Evatt, for the Comnionwealt-h, on the gi'pund that t'he Justiees may *have had peeuniary interests either direetly or ihdireetiy, xn the hearing. ytr. Justiee Starlce explained that his vvife held shares in the National Bank 'of Ajistralasia but he had no -peeuniary interest in them vv-hatever. Mr. Justiee VVilliams said »he was a share.holder in two of the banlcs eoneerned. The benelieial inter'est was enjoyed, by his sister who. lived in Paris and found if eon venieUt to have the investments so arranged. Ile had no peeuniary interest whatever in the holdings. The Chief Justiee, Sir John Latham, sa-id the desirable eourse had been foilowed by stating the facts . publiely. There eould now be no suggestion of any eoneealment or seerecy. Seated at the Bar table were some 25 counsel ineluding eight Iving's Counsel. Mr.- G. Barwiek, K.C., for the Bank of New South Wales, gought a declaration of invalidity of the whole Banking Aet and also a large number of individual parts of it. Broadly, he said, the attacks nuthbered five. -Firstly, that the Aet was not authorised by seetion 31 of the Commonwealth 'Constitution; seeondly, that the Aet in three of its provi^ions — was olmoxious to gection tion, management and its prohibitorv prbvisions — -were obnoxious to sectior 92 of the Constitution; thirdly, insofal as the Aet was justified under pnra graph 31 (aequisition of propertv), ii did not provide jijst terms; fourthly the Aet was an invasion" of the eonstitutional integrity of the Mtates; fifthlv, the. Aet was ineonsistent with seetion 195 and finaneial agreements made t-hereunder. hfr. Barwiek said the Aet eontained an " undisguished attempt to take over. all business whether banlcing or not."' He deseribed the deliuitiort of assets as extremelv wide and not limited to assets assoeiated wjth banking.