Judge narrows the case for police and ambos challenging vaccination

A judge has narrowed the grounds for a group of police and health workers to challenge mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.

A Supreme Court judge will hear an application by seven police, 12 ambulance officers and a nurse opposed to mandatory Covid-19 vaccination just days before Christmas.

Justice Jean Dalton decided there were some matters that could be determined in the Supreme Court.

However, in a blow to the police and health workers, Justice Dalton has narrowed the grounds that can be argued by the anti-vaccination group in the court.

Justice Dalton said the underlying disputes between the police and the Police Commissioner and health workers and Queensland Health’s chief executive of hospital and health services were industrial matters.

She struck out some parts of the group’s court application challenging the mandatory vaccination directives, saying the court did not have jurisdiction.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll’s vaccine directive gave police officers and staff until January 23 to have had both shots of the vaccine, or be suspended with pay.

Queensland Health workers were given until the end of October to be fully vaccinated.

Justice Dalton has extended a suspension of the vaccination directions for the members of the applicant group until the hearing or further orders.

She accepted that the 20 applicants, only one of whom had applied for an exemption from vaccination and been refused, were persons whose interests were adversely affected by the directions.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Picture: Liam Kidston

Justice Dalton struck out their right to seek a statutory order of review, under a number of grounds, under part three of the Judicial Review Act.

However she said the Industrial Relations Act could not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction to determine questions as to whether there had been excess of executive power.

The police and health workers are seeking an injunction restraining the Commissioner and chief executive from acting on the directions.

The applicants would need to demonstrate jurisdictional error to succeed in court.

Justice Dalton ordered a three-day hearing, which will begin on December 20.

She said there were two other similar applications by other workers opposed to vaccinations before the Supreme Court, but she was not prepared to hear all the cases together.

One is an application by 24 police employees, who claim they have been subject to duress regarding vaccination.

On Friday, Queensland Industrial Relations Commission rejected the case of a group of around 60 police officers and civilian staff who refused to get the mandatory Covid-19 jab.

The QIRC found the QPS had undertaken adequate consultation in the lead up to the direction and it had detected no breach of the Work Health and Safety Act.