Supreme Court refuses bid to live stream AFLW player Deni Varnhagen’s vaccine mandate trial
A footballer’s bid for her challenge to vaccine mandates to be live streamed has been declined, despite her lawyers offers of help.
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An AFLW player’s bid to live stream her challenge to vaccine mandates has been refused by the Supreme Court.
Justice Judy Hughes declined the application, noting that the Courts Administration Authority did not have the resources available.
Simon Ower, for Deni Varnhagen, said his team was willing to provide “such technical assistance” which could allow live streaming of the trial, scheduled to start next week, to occur.
He said 5000 people had signed a petition seeking the case be available online.
In a letter sighted by The Advertiser, State Courts Administrator Penny Croser says the “CAA has not live-streamed any court hearings to date and does not have any resources allocated to live stream court hearings”.
“To undertake live streaming would involve detailed preparation and technical capacity … budget, policy and procedures would all need to be considered and developed,” the letter says.
“In particular, protocols will need to be developed with guidelines on what matters could be streamed and the conditions on which they are streamed.
“These protocols, and the technical capacity could not be developed in time for this hearing.”
Varnhagen, fellow nurse Courtney Milligan, teacher Craig Bowyer, childcare worker Kylie Dudson and police officers Adam Zacary Cook and Rosalyn Smith are challenging the mandate.
They claim authorities failed to exclude all “obvious, alternative, compelling, reasonably practicable” alternatives that do not affect “common law rights or freedoms to bodily integrity”.
They have also secured a first-of-its-kind order protecting them from excessive court costs if they lose, and issued subpoenas to two of the state’s top Covid officials.
Just 24 hours after he and chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier were summonsed, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens suggested restrictions may end on April 1.
The day after that, he announced an end to SA Police’s vaccination mandate.
The trial is currently scheduled to run for two days beginning on March 17, and two more days from March 24.
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