Anti-mandate protesters given Christmas Eve deadline for fresh summons

Legal documents will be left under the Government’s Christmas tree as the anti-mandate campaign moves forward.

UPDATE WED, DEC 22: A BUNDLE of legal documents will be left under the Territory Government’s Christmas tree as the anti-mandate campaign moves forward on its court challenge.

Three men, Ray Phillips, Conan Thomas Hammett and John Anstess, initiated the Supreme Court legal case against the government’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate earlier this month.

On Wednesday Justice Sonia Brownhill ordered the anti-mandate plaintiffs to file and serve a fresh summons, outlining the relief sought and grounds for the relief measures, by 4pm Friday on Christmas Eve.

The new summons will be filed just as the government’s deadline for workers to be fully vaccinated comes into effect, on December 24.

Ms Brownhill also set out the schedule of court proceedings in the lead up to the four-day hearing which is due to start on April 19.

“It’s an important matter and it needs to be resolved,” she said.

Lawyer Danial Kelly, left, leaving Darwin's Supreme Court following a directions hearing challenging the NT Government's vaccine mandate on Wednesday December 22. Picture: Zizi Averill

“I’m sure both parties are very keen to have the matter determined as soon as practicable.”

Solicitor-General Nikolai Christrup said the NT Government was working hard to get the matter resolved.

“We’ve put ourselves under tremendous pressure in order to meet our timetable," Mr Christrup said.

The anti-mandate movement has argued the Chief Health Officer does not have the legal authority to prohibit unvaccinated people from attending their workplaces, and claimed the policy classifying all Aboriginal people as “vulnerable” was racist.

Ms Brownhill said to efficiently deal with the challenge, both parties would need to meet “with a view to meet by agreement”, outline their objections, and set out evidence in a court book by March 28.

She said it was appropriate to “intensely case manage” the court matter against the controversial government policy.

The case will next return to the Supreme Court on February 11 for a directions hearing.

UPDATE WED, DEC 15: A SUPREME Court challenge to the validity of the Territory government’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate will not be heard before Christmas after the court ruled fragmenting the case would be unlikely to resolve the issue.

A group of unvaccinated workers initiated the challenge last week and requested that at least some of their arguments be heard in an expedited hearing before the mandated second dose deadline arrives on Christmas Day.

But after hearing from the parties on Wednesday, Justice Sonia Brownhill ruled questions remained over the “utility, economy and fairness” of carving off the first ground of the challenge as requested by the plaintiffs.

Justice Brownhill said while it was “obviously highly desirable” for the matter to be resolved as quickly as possible, there was only a “bare chance” the requested hearing would lead to an ultimate resolution of the case.

EARLIER: DARWIN’S anti-vaccine mandate movement has launched legal action in the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn “racist” government directions compelling the majority of Territory workers to get immunised against Covid-19.

Lead plaintiff, Mario Tsirvas, said the mandate had had wide ranging impacts on local businesses and families, including skyrocketing mental health issues and stress.

“Worst of all, what we’ve seen is what suspending normal democratic processes does to a government who is high on their power trip and forcing draconian, unreasonable laws on everyday people,” he said.

“We are reasonable, everyday people who have seen what’s happening and have said ‘This is too much and too far’.”

Mr Tsirvas said while the group was fiercely opposed to the vaccine mandate, he rejected the label “anti-vaxxer”.

“I’m not opposed to any vaccine, I’m not opposed to anyone who disagrees with vaccines, what we are here (to do) today is to fight against the mandatory vaccinations,” he said.

“We are not here to throw mud on anyone, we are not here to name call or denigrate any members of our society, we are here to stand up for the rights of everybody.”

Lawyer Danial Kelly said the primary argument to be put forward in the case was that chief health office, Hugh Heggie, had “gone beyond” his legislated emergency powers in issuing the directive.

“(The directions) purport to regulate work, workers, workplaces and that’s beyond the power that he’s been given under the parent act,” he said.

Mr Kelly said other grounds for the action included that the directions were “racist”.

“Make no mistake the directions are racist, they deem all Aboriginal people to be vulnerable and that’s simply not the case,” he said.

Mr Kelly said other similar interstate cases that had not gone the plaintiffs’ way might have had a different result if they contained a similar clause.

EARLIER: ANTI-MANDATE group United NT Businesses has announced they will commence legal action against the chief health officer’s directions.

The vaccine mandate, which came into force across the Territory last month, has prompted vocal pushback from some businesses.

In a statement sent to media outlets in the NT, United NT Businesses president Mario Tsirbas said it would launch Supreme Court action against the mandatory vaccination directions on Thursday.

He said there would be a “meeting” at the steps of the NT Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.

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