As a somewhat bigoted Victorian, with a traitor brother who left us to become a crow eater, I have, full disclosure, problems with South Australia. My feelings of discomfort go to the dark crime culture, the nasty murders, the old school system, it goes on. Now, consider:
“Police will not charge the pizza bar worker whose alleged lie led to the statewide lockdown – but he is still considering defamation action, his lawyer says.
The pizza bar worker who allegedly lied and sparked the SA lockdown is relieved he will not be charged and hopes to stay in the state – but fears the public will never give him a fair hearing.
The Spanish national is also considering defamation action against the State Government for ruining his reputation not only in Adelaide, but also his native country.
In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement no charges would be laid, the man’s lawyer, Scott Jelbert, told The Advertiser his client had been “belittled” by the government’s running commentary.
“Now there are no criminal charges, that makes it easier for him to apply for an extension to his visa – and both those things are of great relief to him,” he said.
“He has every reason to believe his reputation in Spain has been damaged because people there have already identified him … he’s no longer in quarantine but he’s certainly in hiding.
“He feels it’s impossible for him to say what happened, and what actions he took, in a public forum because people won’t give him an opportunity to explain himself.”
Previously, the government has said the man contracted COVID-19 while working at Woodville Pizza Bar from a colleague who also worked security at a medi-hotel.
It has further asserted the man told SA Health contact tracers he had ordered a pizza from the bar – sparking fears the virus could be contracted from pizza boxes.”
Apparently, this is not a joke; no, the joke is on the South Australia public, and businesses harmed by the false claims. Perhaps there should be class actions against the South Australian government over this fiasco.