The New South Wales Supreme Court has ruled that a police decision to give COVID fines to protesters at Black Lives Matter and transgender rights rallies in Sydney did not impose an unjustified burden on freedom of speech. The court made the ruling after two protesters challenged COVID fines issued in 2020 for their attendance at separate protests, which were deemed to fall foul of the then restrictions on mass gatherings.
Chad Stratton was among thousands who attended the Black Lives Matter protests in Sydney in July 2020, where protesters called for justice for David Dungay Jr, a Dunghutti man who died at Long Bay jail in 2015 after he said “I can’t breathe” 12 times while being held down by five prison guards. Ruby Pandolfi attended a protest in October 2020 against a bill proposed by Mark Latham to prevent teaching and discussion about transgender people in government schools.
The protesters argued that the health minister’s power to issue public health orders, allowed under the state’s public health act, imposed an unfair burden on the constitution’s implied freedom of communication on governmental and political matters. However, lawyers for the NSW health minister argued the powers were balanced because they only authorized the exercise of power where it reasonably protected the health and safety of the public.
In a statement, the protesters’ lawyer Emma Hearne, from the National Justice Project, said the decision highlighted the “need for much stronger protections of civil and human rights in NSW”. Hearne said the state needed a dedicated human rights act to better protect democratic freedoms.
The ruling has sparked concerns among civil rights activists who believe that the decision could set a precedent for curtailing the right to protest in Australia. It comes amid ongoing protests across the country in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and transgender rights.
In a separate decision this month, the supreme court has found other COVID fines were invalid because they did not properly specify the alleged offense said to have been committed. That case has already prompted the refund of 33,000 COVID fines issued by NSW authorities. Police have begun quietly withdrawing other fines still being fought in courts, while the judiciary has directed the local, children’s and district courts to temporarily hold off dealing with COVID breach cases pending legal advice.