Ricky Nixon too busy ‘helping people’ for parking rules

Ricky Nixon has told a court he’s too busy “helping people with Covid” to worry about parking rules, after racking up about 50 fines.

Ricky Nixon outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2018. Picture: AAP

AFL identity Ricky Nixon has told a court he’s racked up “probably 50 parking fines” while running a mobile Covid “ambulance” around Port Melbourne.

The 58-year-old is battling the council after copping $331 in fines while “trying to do a community service”, saying he thought the three charges from December and January were “a bit ordinary”.

“The three charges are only three of probably 50 parking fines I’ve had in the past two years,” Mr Nixon told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

“Most of them relate to my business, which is pretty much 24/7 helping people with Covid.”

The former sports agent, known as ‘Chicken’, said he was twice fined while bringing testing equipment and supplies to his “ambulance” in Port Melbourne, and a third time while he was held up inside a market due to an altercation out the front.

Prosecutor Basil Stafford said one parking officer had been wearing a body camera with footage that showed a “physical altercation”.

He questioned whether Mr Nixon’s Covid testing and flu vaccination business was “for community service or profit”, but said that would become an issue on sentencing.

Mr Nixon got a second chance to fight the fines after failing to show up to the original hearing in August, blaming a “bloody pathetic” court system that was down.

But Judicial Registrar Leah Hickey cautioned Mr Nixon against a not guilty plea, saying he’d already admitted he’d parked where he parked and that his excuses “may not amount to a defence”.

She agreed to reduce the fines if he pleaded guilty.

Mr Nixon told her to “do whatever you want to do to make this community better” and said he had to be at a shipping container business in 10 minutes to conduct Covid testing.

“Parking fines are a waste of my time,” he said before accepting an adjournment and abruptly exiting the online court.

“I don’t think I could have taken that matter any further,” Judicial Registrar Hickey said in Mr Nixon’s absence.

She said it was “regrettable” the matter would return to court, where three parking inspectors would be called to give evidence.

The matter was adjourned to November 4.