CASCADE Coal, a company which owned an exploration licence covering land near Sedgefield and had that licence (Glendonbrook 7405) and one near Bylong cancelled by the NSW government willl seek to have the decision overturned in the High Court.
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The mining company announced it had filed a writ seeking an order that the legislation passed by the NSW Parliament, allowing for the cancellation of two lucrative exploration licences, was invalid.
It follows a similar move by a former Cascade Coal director, Travers Duncan, and another company, NuCoal Resources, last month.
Special legislation to cancel the licences held by Cascade Coal and NuCoal Resources passed State Parliament in late January.
The legislation – which cancelled the licences and confirmed compensation would not be payable to the companies – was announced by then premier Barry O'Farrell after he received advice from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
Five Cascade investors were found by the commission to have acted corruptly by concealing the Obeids' involvement in the mining tenement.
The ICAC also found Mr Macdonald acted corruptly in 2008 by granting a licence at Doyles Creek to a company then headed by former union official John Maitland. The company, Doyles Creek Mining, was later taken over by NuCoal Resources.
The commission subsequently advised the NSW government the licences were so "tainted by corruption" they should be cancelled.
Cascade Coal and its wholly owned subsidiaries Mt Penny Coal and Glendon Brook Coal last week filed a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim with the High Court of Australia, challenging the constitutional validity of the Mining Amendment (ICAC Operations Jasper and Acacia) Act 2014 (NSW) (the Amending Act).
The Statement of Claim seeks a declaration from the High Court that the Amending Act is invalid, which if successful, would reverse the expropriation of Cascade’s Exploration Licences 7406 and 7405.
Cascade and its directors have initiated the High Court proceedings to protect the interests of Cascade’s shareholders who have incurred substantial losses as a consequence of the unconstitutional action of the Government of New South Wales.
The Amending Act cancelled Exploration Licence 7406 (awarded to Mt Penny Coal) and Exploration Licence 7405 (awarded to Glendon Brook Coal). In addition the Amending Act confiscated other valuable information and rights of Cascade, Mt Penny Coal and Glendon Brook Coal including the right to commence civil proceedings against the State of New South Wales.
Cascade, Mt Penny Coal, and Glendon Brook Coal allege that the Amending Act is invalid because:
1. It is a purported exercise of judicial power in that it determines finally and conclusively existing rights and liabilities, and
2. It is either beyond the power of the Parliament of the State of New South Wales to exercise judicial power as it did in the Amending Act or pursuant to S5 of the Constitutional Act 1902 (NSW) that the Parliament has power only to make “laws” and therefore is not empowered to exercise judicial power.
