State of New South Wales v Wheatley [2018] NSWSC 178

State of New South Wales v Wheatley [2018] NSWSC 178

Payments made by the candidates into the party’s campaign account were 'gifts' and therefore political donations within the meaning of the Act, not exempt contributions for self-funding their own campaigns. As such, each payment exceeding the $5,000 cap was an unlawful political donation, and the total amounts are recoverable by the Electoral Commission as a debt due under s 96J. The Act drew a fundamental distinction between party and candidate campaign accounts; only deposits into the candidate campaign account are covered by the self-funding exemption.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 February 2018
Procedural Posture
Civil / Final Judgment at Trial
Outcome
Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant; declaratory relief granted; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
['political Donations' 'election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act' 'recovery of Unlawful Donations' 'declaratory Relief' 'party Vs Candidate Campaign Accounts']
['election Law' 'statutory Interpretation' 'administrative Law'] ['political Donations' 'election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act' 'recovery of Unlawful Donations' 'declaratory Relief' 'party Vs Candidate Campaign Accounts']

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Procedural Posture

Civil / Final Judgment at Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether payments by party-endorsed candidates to a party campaign account are exempt candidate self-funding or unlawful political donations under the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (NSW)' 'Whether such funds are recoverable by the Electoral Commission as a debt due under s 96J of the Act' 'Appropriateness and scope of declaratory relief in such cases']

Ratio Decidendi

Payments made by the candidates into the party’s campaign account were 'gifts' and therefore political donations within the meaning of the Act, not exempt contributions for self-funding their own campaigns. As such, each payment exceeding the $5,000 cap was an unlawful political donation, and the total amounts are recoverable by the Electoral Commission as a debt due under s 96J. The Act drew a fundamental distinction between party and candidate campaign accounts; only deposits into the candidate campaign account are covered by the self-funding exemption.

Court Disposition

Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant; declaratory relief granted; costs reserved.

Orders

  • ['Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant in the sum of $245,480.20, comprising $200,000 plus pre-judgment interest from 28 March 2015 to date of judgment.' 'Declaration that account 55-7155 held with Westpac in the name of the second defendant was not a candidate campaign account under the Act.'...