REFERENDUM (MACHINERY PROVISIONS) ACT 1984 - SECT 101 Requisites of petition

REFERENDUM (MACHINERY PROVISIONS) ACT 1984 - SECT 101

  (1)   A petition disputing the validity of a referendum or of a return or statement showing the voting at a referendum shall:

  (a)   set out the facts relied on to invalidate the referendum, return or statement, as the case may be;

  (aa)   set out those facts with sufficient particularity to identify the specific matter or matters on which the petitioner relies as justifying the grant of relief;

  (b)   contain a request asking for the relief to which the petitioner claims to be entitled;

  (c)   subject to subsection   102(2), be signed by the Attorney - General of the Commonwealth for and on behalf of the Commonwealth, the Attorney - General of a State for and on behalf of the State, the Attorney - General of the Australian Capital Territory for and on behalf of the Territory or the Attorney - General of the Northern Territory for and on behalf of the Northern Territory, as the case requires; and

  (d)   be filed in the Registry of the High Court within 40 days after the publication in the Gazette of the statement by the Electoral Commissioner showing the result of the referendum.

  (2)   The Court may, at any time after the filing of a petition and on such terms (if any) as it thinks fit, relieve the petitioner wholly or in part from compliance with paragraph   (1)(aa).

  (3)   The Court shall not grant relief under subsection   (2) unless it is satisfied that:

  (a)   in spite of the failure of the petition to comply with paragraph   (1)(aa), the petition sufficiently identifies the specific matters on which the petitioner relies; and

  (b)   the grant of relief would not unreasonably prejudice the interests of another party to the petition.