A newspaper that applies to vary or discharge a suppression order is a 'party' to a 'matter' within s 79 of the District Court of Western Australia Act 1969 and has standing to seek leave to appeal. Suppression orders should not ordinarily be made without recording the information relied upon and providing adequate reasons. Applications to vary or discharge suppression orders should be made in writing after giving notice to affected parties. The danger to an informer's life, including the risk that disclosure of a lenient sentence would reveal the extent of cooperation, can constitute exceptional circumstances justifying departure from the open justice principle.
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