LSJ spoke to legal experts about 'grey areas' of law during COVID-19, and asked whether NSW citizens have a right to publicly march against government action in such unprecedented times.
Solicitor Samantha Lee, head of Redfern Legal Centre’s Police Accountability practice, highlighted the problem that most of penalty infringement notices issued to protesters will not be tested in court. Most people simply pay the fine rather than spend time and resources trying to appeal it through Revenue NSW or, later, the court system.
“On the few occasions when we [Redfern Legal Centre] have been about to take a [COVID-19] fine to court, the police have withdrawn it – so we have not actually had a chance to test the laws in front of a magistrate,” Lee says. She adds that the public health orders create 'so much grey area' and are changing so often that it is almost impossible for lawyers to advise clients on their chances of success in appealing a fine.
“At the heart of the issue is a technical legal question over whether leaving home to protest is a reasonable excuse amid public health orders,” she says. “We don’t really know the answer to that yet.”
Read the full article (LSJ Online, 26 August 2021)
