View source for Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd v Commonwealth

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January  2018}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox court case
| name=Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd v Commonwealth
| court=[[High Court of Australia]]
| image=Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
| date decided=14 April 1976
| full name= Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth of Australia
| citations={{cite AustLII|HCA|20|1976|parallelcite=(1976)&nbsp;136&nbsp;[[Commonwealth Law Reports|CLR]]&nbsp;1}}
| judges= [[Garfield Barwick|Barwick]] [[Chief Justice of Australia|CJ]], [[Edward McTiernan|McTiernan]], [[Harry Gibbs|Gibbs]], [[Ninian Stephen|Stephen]], [[Anthony Mason (judge)|Mason]], [[Kenneth Jacobs|Jacobs]] & [[Lionel Murphy|Murphy]] [[Justices|JJ]]
| prior actions=
| subsequent actions=
| opinions=
'''(7:0)''' Section 112 of the ''Customs Act 1901'' (Cth) was a constitutionally valid law under the trade and commerce power
}}

'''''Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd v Commonwealth''''',<ref name="Murphyores HCA">{{cite AustLII|HCA|20|1976|litigants=Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd v Commonwealth |parallelcite=(1976) 136 [[Commonwealth Law Reports|CLR]] 1 |date=14 April 1976 |courtname=[[High Court of Australia|High Court]]}}.</ref> was a case decided in the [[High Court of Australia]] regarding the scope of the trade and commerce power in [[Section 51(i) of the Australian Constitution|section 51(i)]] of the [[Australian Constitution|Constitution]].

==Background==

Section 112 of the ''[[Customs Act 1901]]'',<ref>{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|ca1901124|Customs Act 1901}}.</ref> prohibited the exportation of mineral sands unless authorised by the Minister. Murphyores Inc Pty Ltd, which held leases from the state of [[Queensland]] to mine mineral sands on [[Fraser Island]], sought permission from the Minister to export mineral sands. Such authorisation was withheld pending the outcome of an environmental inquiry. Murphyores challenged the constitutional validity of prohibition and sought an injunction to the study, and a declaration that the Minister cannot make a prohibition for environmental purposes.

==Decision==

In a unanimous decision, the court held the legislation was a valid exercise of the trade and commerce power. [[Section 51(i) of the Australian Constitution|Section 51(i)]] was a non-purposive power, and the only relevant factor was the subject matter of trade and commerce. The motive and purpose behind the legislation was irrelevant.

== See also ==

* [[Section 51(i) of the Australian Constitution]]
* [[Australian constitutional law]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* [[George Winterton|Winterton, G.]] et al. ''Australian federal constitutional law: commentary and materials'', 1999. LBC Information Services, Sydney.
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[[Category:High Court of Australia cases]]
[[Category:1976 in Australian law]]
[[Category:Australian constitutional law]]
[[Category:Trade and commerce power in the Australian Constitution cases]]
[[Category:1976 in case law]]