Midwest Academy Pty Ltd v Secretary, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; Akkari v Secretary, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

The Court vacated the hearing date for two sentence appeals under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) where the appellants' solicitors had been terminated and the appellants failed to appear, but declined to dismiss the appeals outright given thin but unchallenged medical evidence, instead adjourning for mention with an expectation that appellants would either obtain a new hearing date or discontinue. Costs thrown away of $1,500 were awarded to the prosecutor under s 49(4) of the Act. The Court reiterated that the onus to vacate a criminal hearing rests on the applicant and that a strong public interest favours proceedings on the fixed date.