COURT OF APPEAL CHALLENGE

As you may have heard, we have decided to appeal Justice Heron's decision striking out the Campaign's challenge to the Government's decision to scrap the Air Combat Force.

A notice of appeal (see below) was filed in the Court of Appeal earlier this week. The appeal is to be heard on Tuesday 12th February 2002.

Thanks to the generosity of Campaign supporters, the cost of the High Court proceeding was fully covered by Campaign contributions. We are now seeking further contributions to cover the appeal costs which will be in the vicinity of $25,000.

If the Court of Appeal agrees to reverse the strike-out order, then the main proceeding will go ahead in the High Court. Our understanding is that the High Court may have sufficient hearing time available in Auckland or Wellington in the middle of next year.

While the squadrons have obviously gone it is not too late to save the infrastructure which will be necessary to rebuild an air defence capability when New Zealand eventually gets a Government prepared to properly discharge its national security obligations.

For further information, see: www.soscampaign.co.nz.

I wish to make a financial contribution of $ __________ to the Campaign and enclose a cheque payable to: "Save Our Squadrons Campaign Trust Fund" (cheques should be crossed "Not Transferable". Please do not staple cheques).

Name: ________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________________________________

Post to: Mrs Nicky Stockman, Secretary, Save Our Squadrons Campaign, c/o PO Box 5091, Wellesley Street, Auckland

NOTICE OF APPEAL

TAKE NOTICE that this Court will be moved at the first sitting thereof after the expiration of 14 days or so soon thereafter as Counsel can be heard, by way of appeal from that part of the judgment of the High Court of New Zealand delivered at Wellington by Heron J on 15 November 2001 in CP 252/01 striking out the appellant's proceedings UPON THE GROUNDS that that part of the judgment is erroneous in fact and in law in the following respects:

1. The Court took a wrong approach to the exercise of its discretion on an application to strike out and in particular -

1.1 in taking into account the effect of the Appropriations Act 2001;

1.2 in accepting the Crown's (disputed) assertion that it was impossible to reverse the process;

1.3 in striking out the proceeding in circumstances where the court considered that although the merits of the claim did not meet the prima facie test, there was nevertheless an arguable case;

1.4 in wrongly considering the circumstances to be analogous to those in the case of Southern Ocean Trawlers Ltd v Director General of Agriculture & Fisheries [1993] 2 NZLR 53 (CA).

2. In failing to have regard to the further argument signalled in the course of submissions that as a consequence of the Minister's decisions shaping and restructuring the New Zealand Defence Force, the very existence of a defence force capable of operating in accordance with the policy and objectives of the Defence Act 1990 has been frustrated, and accordingly those decisions were beyond the Minister's powers under s 7 of the Defence Act 1990.

DATED this day of December 2001

_____________________________

C R Bradbury

Solicitor for the Appellant

TO: The Registrar, Court of Appeal, Wellington

AND TO: The Registrar, High Court, Wellington

AND TO: The Respondent

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