ou are a young solicitor working for a medium law firm, in Perth, Western Australia. Shortly after the ASIATIC Act becomes law, you are approached by Summer Rayne, an ageing but respected community activist who is sole director of a national charity called ‘Help The Boats Limited'. His organisation is a company (corporation) limited by guarantee, which means any money it makes must be reinvested in the non-profit work of the charity.Help The Boats Limited owns three expensive ocean-going speedboats which are preparing to set sail from Perth to meet a wooden boat full of Afghani asylum seekers. This creaky boat is predicted to cross into Western Australian waters within the next few days on course for the coast. Summer Rayne is planning to captain one of the speedboats himself, and keep them circling the asylum boat at high speed as it makes its way towards shore, so that Navy or Border Protection ships cannot safely board it and tow it back out to sea.Mr Rayne is wearing a large T-shirt, carrying the message: ‘Support human rights... support Help The Boats'. These highly popular T-shirts are shipped everywhere and sell well in every state of Australia, and provide most of his revenue - enough money to buy a fourth boat.Mr Rayne is worried about the new Commonwealth law. He was a major figure in the campaign that led the Western Australian parliament to repeal its maritime safety laws so his boats' actions would no longer be illegal. He wants to know if the Australian government will really be able to stop him. He particularly wants to know if they will be able to seize his speedboats and not Page 5 of 5give them back. His T-shirt profits are also starting to decline because his staff are becoming too scared to make them, his volunteers are becoming too scared to sell them, and people are becoming too scared to buy and wear them.He says: "Me, I don't care if they arrest me, because I know no jury will ever convict me. A showrial would be great for business. But if they can enforce this law I'm not sure how we'd still be able to get out there and help the boats."Please draft legal advice, setting out your opinion of Summer Rayne's chances of challenging any or all relevant provisions of the Commonwealth Act. Make sure you include your assessment, supported by appropriate case precedent, of:
(i) which, if any, of the provisions in the Commonwealth Act are supported by the Commonwealth Constitution
(ii) whether any of the provisions in the Commonwealth Act might be found to infringe any other constitutional limits or prohibitions and
(iii) any other issues you think relevant, including the overall effect of the likely validity or invalidity of any provisions on your clients' interests, in This difficult situation.
Given the text of the Act, assume that nothing in the Act is supported by sections51(xix) or (xxvii) of the Constitution (naturalisation, aliens, immigration and emigration).Remember your advice is worthless if Mr Rayne cannot understand it, or it is insufficiently clear to show him you know what you are talking about.