Farey v Burvett

Farey v Burvett
Court	High Court of Australia
Decided	8 June 1916
Citations	[1916] HCA 36, (1916) 21 CLR 433
Court membership
Judges sitting	Griffith CJ, Barton, Isaacs, Higgins Gavan Duffy, Powers & Rich JJ
Case opinions
(5:2) The defence powers of the Commonwealth were sufficient to permit the Governor-General to make regulations and orders fixing the maximum price for bread.per Griffith CJ, Barton, Isaacs, Higgins & Powers JJ.

Farey v Burvett^[1] is an early High Court of Australia case concerning the extent of the defence power of the Commonwealth.^[2] The majority of the Court took an expansive view of the defence power in a time of war, holding that the defence power extended to fixing the maximum price for bread. The Court adopted a different approach to the interpretation of the defence power which emphasised the purpose of the legislation, the defence of Australia, rather than the subject matter. As the law fell within a Commonwealth power, whether the law was necessary or appropriate for the defence of Australia was a matter for Parliament.