Melbourne court overturns racing track ban against Danny Nikolic
VICTORIA Police is considering an appeal after a second track ban on jockey Danny Nikolic was overturned in court.
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VICTORIA Police is pushing for changes to the law after jockey Danny Nikolic had a second track ban overturned.
Supreme Court judge Timothy Ginnane ruled an exclusion order imposed by police against Nikolic visiting Victorian racecourses was made unlawfully.
Responding to the decision, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton defended the police move to ban Nikolic, 41, from the track.
He also revealed Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton had been in touch with the Attorney-General and the prospect of “legislative reform” was discussed.
“I made my decision ... I deemed it appropriate to exclude him,” Mr Patton said.
“Exclusion orders ... ensure the integrity of races and stop organised crime figures attending at racetracks.”
Victoria Police is considering appealing the ruling.
Speaking before closing the court to the public yesterday, Justice Ginnane said Nikolic had not been provided detailed reasons, nor granted procedural fairness in responding to the order.
“The exclusion order is therefore invalid and of no legal effect,” he said.
Outside court, lawyer Patrick Lennon said Nikolic was “elated and delighted”.
“It vindicates him in that it is now the second exclusion order he has had to come to court to set aside at considerable cost and inconvenience to him,” he said.
In October, Victoria Police had to revoke an initial order banning Nikolic from racecourses because of a procedural blunder, and it was ordered to pay his court costs of almost $50,000.
Nikolic has not raced since he was found guilty of threatening Racing Victoria chief steward Terry Bailey and his family in September 2012.
Mr Lennon said it was time to “bring on the real game, which is for Dan to go back down to VCAT and seek a review, so that he can get his license back and ride, and do what he does for a living, do what he’s always done.”
Asked how he was feeling, Nikolic replied “yeah, good”.
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His father, John, said the outcome was “a lot off our shoulders.”
In an affidavit previously filed to the Supreme Court, Nikolic claimed to have received a letter from Deputy Commissioner Patton, accusing him of “criminal associations”.
Mr Patton allegedly said in his statement of reasons for the exclusion: “I have formed the view that you have a limited appreciation of, or ability to control, your behaviour towards others, including racing officials and participants, family members, associates and the general public. The protected information that I considered also demonstrated matters relevant to your lack of integrity, criminal associations and poor character.”
Nikolic claimed in court documents that he wasn’t given the opportunity to respond to the allegations, and was denied natural justice.
Lawyers demanded Victoria Police reveal its correspondence with Racing Victoria concerning Nikolic’s application for a jockey licence and the exclusion order.
Justice Ginnane had dismissed Nikolic’s application for discovery of the documents but allowed them to be handed to his barrister, Ron Merkel, QC, on a set of strict conditions, including that Nikolic himself would be barred from seeing them.
Most of the case was heard in closed court.