The High Court has ruled that the Federal Government’s stimulus package payments of up to $900 can go ahead.
The decision comes after a challenge from University of New England academic Bryan Pape who argued the payments were a gift, not a tax measure, and that the Government had no power to distribute them.
But Government Solicitor-General Stephen Gageler argued that the Constitution provided the Parliament power to allocate money from the consolidated revenue fund.
The court’s full bench ruled this morning that the legislation that introduced the stimulus package was valid, while Chief Justice Robert French said the court would explain its decision at a later date.
The decision means that payments of up to $900 will be made to millions of Australian from Monday 6 April.
Pape said outside the court that it was a “triumph” that a citizen could challenge such a large Government initiative and that he was looking forward to hearing the court’s full decision.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
