James Nash teacher Ralph Stacey loses QIRC appeal on Covid jab

A Gympie teacher was told he was lucky to still have his job in a scathing rebuke by Queensland’s employment watchdog commissioner over his “doomed to fail” attempts to overturn punishment for refusing the Covid jab.

A James Nash State High School teacher has been told he is lucky to still have his job in a scathing rebuke by Queensland employment watchdog of his “doomed to fail” attempts to overturn punishment for refusing the Covid jab.

A Gympie teacher was told he was lucky to still have his job in a scathing rebuke by Queensland’s employment watchdog over his “doomed to fail” attempts to overturn punishment for refusing the Covid jab.

James Nash State High School’s Ralph Stacey launched an appeal against the punishment meted out by Queensland Education after he refused to abide by government vaccine directions at the height of the pandemic.

The decision by Commissioner John Dwyer, published online by the QIRC online, revealed Mr Stacey was fighting to overturn an 18-week reduction in pay and reprimand handed down in August 2022.

The documents reveal Mr Stacey argued he should have been subject to no financial penalty as he had already been suspended without pay.

Mr Stacey argued his initial suspension was “punishment enough”, while making comparisons with unidentified employees of Queensland Health and challenging the safety of some Covid vaccines by citing the alleged “withdrawal” of the AstraZeneca, Mr Dwyer’s decision revealed.

A James Nash State High School teacher was told he was lucky to still have his job in a scathing rebuke by the Queensland employment watchdog of his “doomed to fail” attempts to overturn punishment for refusing the Covid jab.

The teacher further called it an “evolving” situation, citing “unsubstantiated” figures of 1024 alleged deaths from Covid vaccines and 140,512 alleged adverse reactions.

Mr Dwyer in response roundly refused to hear the appeal, saying the submissions appeared to be “template” and “materially identical” to those made by other departments, and otherwise “doomed to fail”.

“I would not be surprised to learn that (Mr Stacey) did not draft them and perhaps was not even familiar with them given the very different grounds he now relies on to illustrate his arguable case,” Mr Dwyer said.

He said Mr Stacey’s appeal itself was “wholly misconceived”, and went so far as to include a footnote noting the official number of vaccine-related deaths out of 69 million doses issued was 14.

Mr Dwyer said it was not disputed Mr Stacey had “flagrantly disobeyed” a lawful and reasonable direction, an action “that almost always attracts a penalty of termination of employment, and properly so”.

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James Nash teacher Ralph Stacey argued his initial suspension was “punishment enough”, while making comparisons with unidentified employees of Queensland Health and challenging the safety of some Covid vaccines by citing the alleged “withdrawal” of the AstraZeneca, Mr Dwyer’s decision reveals.

“It is difficult to imagine a greater aggravating factor for an act of misconduct than one where the health and safety of school aged children is disregarded,” Mr Dwyer said.

“It is therefore nothing short of astonishing that Mr Stacey remains employed by the Department.”

Mr Dwyer said the 18-week reduction in wages and reprimand was in contrast “very generous” in the circumstances.

It was on these grounds “alone” Mr Dwyer refused to hear the appeal, and noted any hardship suffered by Mr Stacey at the time was “exclusively a consequence of his choice not to be vaccinated”.

“Mr Stacey was entirely free to have made that choice, but the consequences of that choice are his responsibility,” Mr Dwyer said.

Commissioner John Dwyer refused to hear Gympie teacher Ralph Stacey’s appeal, and delivered a scathing rebuke of people who continued to bring similar cases to the QIRC and courts despite repeated rulings finding them baseless. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Mr Dwyer blasted the continued waste of commission and court resources on anti-vaccine cases.

He said there was “something deeply repugnant about the continued abuse of the Commission’s resources by individuals who have refused, without good cause, to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction, and who continually seek to avoid responsibility for their choices”.

“For over two years now the Commission has been dismissing these matters and repeatedly citing its earlier decisions explaining why,” Mr Dwyer said.

“Yet these appeals keep coming because the appellants in most instances refuse to read or accept anything that does not assist their cause.”