Peter David Richadrson fights court decision on council rates

A judge presiding over a matter in which a man challenged his local council on its right to charge rates said it was “sad” to see people “fall down the rabbit hole of this kind of nonsense”.

Peter David Richardson.

A man’s odd reasons for not paying his council rates have been revealed after a judge heard his submissions regarding the matter in Hervey Bay District Court.

Peter David Richardson addressed the court while seeking leave to make application to challenge the magistrates court’s decision to enforce the Fraser Coast Regional Council’s move to recover thousands of dollars in unpaid rates.

Mr Richardson argued before Judge Glen Cash that the council did not have the authority to collect rates and he complained about flooding that affected his property.

Also during his address to the court, Mr Richardson spoke of election fraud and asked what language the court would be speaking today and whether it would be “legalese”, then offered a sworn affidavit from a woman saying she had witnessed him breathing.

In the affidavit, the woman swore she had witnessed Mr Richardson cast breath on a glass, proving he was “in fact, of law, a live man whose flesh lives and blood flows as proof that I am a live man”.

Mr Richardson said he had been contacted by the council which had demanded “money with menace”, threatening to garnish his accounts or sell his property over the unpaid rates.

Addressing the court, Mr Richardson said he had a copy of the original Australian constitution, a copy of the Australian Oxford dictionary and the Black’s Law dictionary.

“I would like to know which language we’ll be speaking today because it seems to me (we have) two different languages,” he said.

“We have the legalese and the English version.”

Mr Richardson spoke of election frauds and claimed there was video of election counters rubbing out pencil marks on vote sheets and votes being taken out of voting centres and driven away.

He argued rates were a land tax based on the value of the land.

A man’s bizarre reasons for not paying his council rates have been revealed after a judge heard his submissions regarding the matter in Hervey Bay District Court. Photo: Tracey Joynson

“There’s no invoice provided for services provided and all they do is take the bins away; there’s no water, there’s no sewerage and there’s no contract between myself and the Fraser Coast Regional Council corporation,” he said.

The council had an ABN number and paid tax, he said.

“I’ve requested numerous times that the Fraser Coast council and (chief executive) Ken Diehm provide a copy of the commercial contract and they refuse over and over again to sit down and have a meeting,” he said.

“I’ve been in there, they refuse to negotiate.

“I have every right to withhold my money until they provide a copy of the commercial contract.

“I need this matter taken to trial; I have a lawful advocate that would like to appear for me.”

Mr Richardson said at the present time, Australia did not even have a Crown because the Queen had died and King Charles was yet to be coroneted.

“Are you familiar Mr Richardson with the demise of the Crown Act of 1919,” Judge Cash said.

“Not at the moment but I’m sure I can look that up when I get home,” Mr Richardson responded.

Mr Richardson said he had registered complaints of flooding through his property with the council and they sent out a compliance officer.

He claimed they said he had a fair complaint, but he had never heard anything back.

“My property is at risk every time it rains of flooding because I had neighbours both sides of me who have built dams and blocked off the natural flow of the creek that runs through my property.

“But they do nothing to do anything about the flood problems through my property and I’m well within my rights to withhold any fees that they charge me whether they’re lawful or unlawful on myself to pay them until these matters are rectified.”

Mr Richardson said water had gone a metre through his workshop due to flooding.

He said he was prepared to take the matter “all the way to the top”.

A legal representative appearing for the Fraser Coast council asked Judge Cash to fix costs to “avoid any drawn-out assessment of this matter”.

“I think they’re optimistic in thinking matters involving Mr Richardson are not going to be drawn out in one way or another,” Judge Cash responded.

As Judge Cash handed down his decision on the application, Mr Richardson said he wanted an adjournment because we “don’t have lawful government at this stage”.

Judge Cash said the council had commenced proceedings in the magistrates court in July, 2022, to recover about $4500 in unpaid rates.

Mr Richardson had attempted to file a notice of intention to defend, which was properly refused by the registry as it did not comply with the rules and which contained “much material which was irrelevant”, Judge Cash said.

Judge Glen Cash.

The council then sought a judgment which was not defended by Mr Richardson and on August 24, 2022, a judgment was entered.

Mr Richardson attempted to have the judgement set aside but did not appear when that matter was set for argument on October 21, 2022.

“Unsurprisingly his application was dismissed with costs,” Judge Cash said.

“As matters stand at the moment, the applicant is indebted to the respondent in the amount totalling around $7500.”

On November 8, 2022, Mr Richardson filed a notice to appeal to the district court.

Judge Cash did not allow an adjournment to be granted and in his remarks he addressed the arguments Mr Richardson had made to the court.

“Among the applicant’s various assertions are the tired claims that local government does not exist in the absence of recognition in the Commonwealth constitution; that the applicant has not entered into a commercial contract with the respondent; and that this court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim.

“The curiosity of the latter is obvious given it is the applicant who seeks to invoke the jurisdiction of this court.”

Judge Cash said that fact that local governments were authorised by the Queensland constitution to levy rates was a matter beyond doubt.

“There is no merit in the arguments raised by the applicant either in his written materials or in his submissions advanced today.”

That had included references to acts of the South Australian parliament which was inapplicable to Queensland and references to findings of a “grand jury”, a process never adopted in Queensland and “wholly irrelevant”, Judge Cash said, along with claims that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had “committed treason”.

“Nothing said by Mr Richardson in his diatribe this morning bears any way on his challenge to the order of the magistrate,” he said.

Leave to appeal was refused and the proceedings were dismissed.

“It is rather sad to see people like Mr Richardson who I presume to be otherwise capable people fall down the rabbit hole of this kind of nonsense,” Judge Cash said.

“People like the applicant would be much better off if they put their energy towards more profitable endeavours than pursuing outlandish and plainly incorrect legal claims.

“One consequence in pursuing such a claim here is that having failed to seek leave to appeal, it is appropriate that costs follow the event.”

Mr Richardson was ordered to pay $5000 in costs to the council.

Originally published as Peter David Richadrson fights court decision on council rates