Hocking v Director-General of the National Archives of Australia

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIAKIEFEL CJ,BELL, GAGELER, KEANE, NETTLE, GORDON AND EDELMAN JJJENNIFER HOCKING  APPELLANTANDDIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA  RESPONDENTHocking v Director-General of the National Archives of Australia[2020] HCA 19Date of Hearing: 4 & 5 February 2020Date of Judgment: 29 May 2020S262/2019ORDER1.Appeal allowed. 2.Set aside the orders of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia made on 8 February 2019 and, in their place, order that: (a)the appeal to the Full Court be allowed; (b)the orders of Griffiths J made on 16 March 2018 be set aside and, in their place, it be: (i)declared that the contents of Record AA1984/609 ("the deposited correspondence") constitute Commonwealth records within the meaning of the Archives Act 1983 (Cth); (ii)ordered that a writ of mandamus issue to compel the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia to reconsider Professor Hocking's request for access to the deposited correspondence; and(iii)ordered that the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia pay Professor Hocking's costs at first instance; and (c)the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia pay Professor Hocking's costs of the appeal to the Full Court. 3.The Director-General of the National Archives of Australia pay Professor Hocking's costs of this appeal. On appeal from the Federal Court of AustraliaRepresentationB W Walker SC with T J Brennan for the appellant (instructed by Corrs Chambers Westgarth)S P Donaghue QC, Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth, with C L Lenehan SC, D M Forrester and J A G McComish for the respondent and the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth,...