Nathan Schmidt reporting for News.com.au
The NSW government has failed to stop a class-action lawsuit challenging the legality of hundreds of strip-searches carried out by police at popular music festivals.
Lead plaintiff Raya Meredith filed the suit in the NSW Supreme Court last year on behalf of festivalgoers strip searched by police at events between 2016-2022.
Ms Meredith, who was strip-searched at an event in 2016, sought compensation for the group after claiming the searches were unlawful and amounted to assault.
In a bid to block the class action, the state government earlier this year sought to have the motion “declassed”, as it claimed there were insufficient common issues.
Following a protracted court battle, Supreme Court Justice Peter Garling last week threw out the state’s application and ordered the group proceeding to continue.
“I am abundantly satisfied that these representative proceedings should continue because they are the most effective and efficient means of determining the issues raised by the group proceedings,” Justice Garling said.
Redfern Legal Centre senior police accountability solicitor Samantha Lee said “strip-searches are invasive, harmful and have a long-lasting impact”.
“We know that young people are strip-searched at disproportionate rates. We work with many clients who have been deeply traumatised by strip-searches,” she said.
“We hope that this class action will achieve justice … and lead to legislative change to ensure strip-searches only occur in circumstances of the utmost seriousness.”
