17 July 2013

Corneloup 2.0

In Bickle & Ors v Corporation of the City of Adelaide [2013] SASC 115 the South Australian Supreme Court has summarily dismissed an appeal by the Rundle Mall 'street preachers' against the decision regarding an Adelaide council prohibition on their activity.

The council's bylaws included a requirement for people to gain permission to "Preach, canvass, harangue, tout for business or conduct any survey or opinion poll" in the Rundle Mall precinct, subject to “Speakers Corner” and "any survey or opinion poll conducted by or with the authority of a candidate during the course of a Federal State or Local Government Election or during the course and for the purpose of a Referendum".

The dismissal of the appeal - with the Court commenting that the appellant's argument was "foredoomed to fail" - reflects the earlier Corneloup litigation, in particular the High Court's judgment in Attorney-General (SA) v Corporation of the City of Adelaide & Ors (2013) 87 ALJR 289, [2013] HCA 3 and The Corporation of the City of Adelaide v Corneloup & Ors [2011] SASCFC 84.