Why court adjourned Acland's bid to liquidate legal opponent

COURT decides on New Acland Coal’s application to wind up Oakey Coal Action Alliance.

An application to wind up the Oakey Coal Action Alliance has been adjourned.

SUPREME Court Justice Peter Davis has adjourned New Acland Coal Mine's application to wind up the Oakey Coal Action Alliance until a High Court appeal involving the two parties is heard.

New Acland Coal had applied in late May for the winding up order based on $735,000 in costs which the Court of Appeal had ordered OCAA to pay.

In deciding to adjourn the matter until after the High Court appeal was heard, Justice Davis said: "(OCAA) owes a substantial debt to the applicant and appears to be insolvent."

"There are undoubtedly discretionary considerations which favour the making of a winding up order now," he said.

"However… the only relevant interests are those of the applicant and respondent.

"There are no public interest considerations such as arise where an insolvent trading company continues to conduct business.

"The respondent's interest is in prosecuting its appeal… the making of a winding up order will practically frustrate the appeal."

Justice Davis said there was no evidence a delay in making a winding up order would reduce any dividend from the winding up.

"The real interest of the (New Acland Coal) is to avoid incurring ongoing costs defending an appeal against (OCAA) who is likely to be unable to meet a costs order in the event that the appeal is dismissed."

His Honour observed OCAA's interested "may be prejudiced irreparably" if there was no adjournment of New Acland Coal's application to wind up the organisation. 

"On the other hand, the (New Acland Coal) will suffer little in the way of prejudice. It has an available remedy to address the prejudice, namely by making an application for security for costs of the (High Court) appeal," he said.

"I consider it appropriate to adjourn the application to a date to be fixed after determination of the appeal to the High Court."

Mine owner New Hope Group said in a statement it would "now determine the appropriate course of action as a result of this decision".

"New Acland Stage 3 will create 187 new jobs within six months and generate $7 billion in economic activity over the life of the project.

"There remains no impediment to the Queensland Government granting the necessary approvals to enable this shovel ready project to proceed."

The court's decision was welcomed by OCAA.

Acland and OCAA have been tied up in a series of legal battles in recent years.

The High Court appeal relates to the September Queensland Court of Appeal decision, which dismissed both grounds of the alliance's appeal and found a historic Land Court decision over the mine was affected by apprehended bias.

OCAA's application for special leave to appeal to the High Court was granted on June 5.

Previously, Environmental Defenders Office principal lawyer Sean Ryan explained his client's appeal saying it was "fundamental to the administration of justice that courts and their decisions are fair and impartial".

An original Land Court decision was found by the Court of Appeal in September 2019 to have been affected by an apprehension of bias.

"However (the Land Court ruling) continued to affect subsequent decisions," Mr Ryan said.

"Our client, OCAA, is now asking for clarity.

"The Acland farmers deserve decisions unclouded by questions of fairness, and OCAA is asking this High Court whether the correct law has been followed in this instance."

Originally published as Why court adjourned Acland's bid to liquidate legal opponent