The Queensland Supreme Court has held that Queensland paramedics and police officers who were penalised under the state's Covid vax mandates, were treated unlawfully, the mandatory vaccine requirements being inconsistent with their human rights under the Queensland Human Rights Act. They had thus been discriminated against "due to their political belief or activity." The decision applied to both Queensland police and paramedics. The directives had failed to properly consider the human rights of the employees. According to the trial judge: "It follows that, by failing to give proper consideration, the making of each of those decisions was unlawful.""Despite the revocation of the QPS directions, a finding of unlawfulness is still available."
This case while not binding upon other jurisdictions, is highly suggestive, and would indicate that similar litigation against the pandemic orders could be conducted, this case being the first cab off the rank. Nurses are another group that may follow this litigation. And the universities who required students to be covid vaxxed just to enter the campus and do their degree, are a prime litigation target. And they certainly deserve it.
The case is: Johnston & Ors v Carroll (Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service) & Anor; Witthahn & Ors v Wakefield (Chief Executive of Hospital and Health Services and Director General of Queensland Health); Sutton & Ors v Carroll (Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service) [2024] QSC 2.https://www.sclqld.org.au/caselaw/146152.
"Covid-19 vaccine mandates for Queensland police and ambulance workers were made unlawfully, the state's supreme court has found.
The court on Tuesday delivered its judgments in three lawsuits brought by 86 parties against Queensland's police ambulance services for their directions to workers issued in 2021 and 2022.
The judgments did not make a ruling or attempt to make a decision about the transmissibility of a particular variant of Covid or the efficacy of a particular vaccine.
The prior directions required emergency service workers to receive Covid vaccines and booster shots or face potential disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
The court found the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, failed to give proper consideration to human rights relevant to the decision to issue the vaccine mandate.
The former Department of Health director general Dr John Wakefield was unable to prove he issued the vaccine mandate under an implied term of the employment agreements for ambulance service workers.
As a result, both vaccine mandates were found by the court to be "unlawful" and to have no effect.
The court also found the directions limited the human rights of workers because they were required to undergo a medical procedure without full consent but it was reasonable in all the circumstances.
The senior judge administrator, Glenn Martin, said the police and ambulance services were trying to prevent their employees from suffering infection, serious illness and life-changing health consequences.
"The balance between the importance of the purpose of the limitation and the importance of preserving the human right … is complicated by the fact that these directions were given in what was, by any measure, an emergency," he said."