Ex-TV star asks to be spared conviction for Nazi salute
Former Neighbours and McLeod's Daughters actor Damien Patrick Richardson, 55, faced Moorabbin Magistrates Court in suburban Melbourne supported by his mother on Friday.
He has been charged with performing a Nazi salute on September 14, 2024.
Richardson is accused of intentionally performing the salute "whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology" in a public place at Urban St restaurant in McKinnon, the court was told.
Defence, prosecution and Richardson all appeared online on Friday morning, but magistrate Luisa Bazzani asked them to come into the court in person.
Richardson's lawyer Peter Monagle said his client was preparing material to hand to prosecutors asking he be given a diversion.
Diversion would mean Richardson is spared a criminal conviction for the offence, however the prosecution must agree to this and then recommend it to a magistrate.
Mr Monagle said if the diversion was not accepted by the prosecution then the matter would proceed to a three-hour contest mention.
"The issues in dispute are legal," he told the court.
"There was an action performed by my client, but there are provisions in the act that we say cover that, but the prosecution argues doesn't cover that."
He said there was no relevant prior case law, because the only people convicted of the offence "openly said they were Nazis".
The first Victorian convicted of performing the gesture in public was Jacob Hersant, a far-right extremist who was handed a one-month jail term and is appealing this.
Hersant performed the salute in front of news cameras in October 2023, days after it was outlawed.
Mr Monagle asked for time to gather materials in favour of diversion, including character and work references, and said Richardson has four letters from people who were at the event in question.
Ms Bazzani said if diversion is accepted, the matter will go before a magistrate for consideration.
If diversion is not accepted by the prosecution, then it is open for Richardson to enter a plea and seek a sentence indication, she said.
Richardson, who is on summons, will next face court on July 15.
He starred as Gary Canning in Neighbours from 2014 to 2020, and also appeared in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth.
He retired from acting in 2021 and unsuccessfully stood as a political candidate in the 2022 federal and state elections.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
5 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Fraud claim rocks Smorgon gold mine deal
Companies controlled by the powerful Victor Smorgon Group have been accused of running a dishonest and fraudulent scheme to invalidly acquire a stake in an Australian gold mine at a below-market price. The allegations, which have been strongly denied, were filed in the Federal Court by the Smorgon group's Chinese partners in the Stawell Gold Mine, and reveal a bitter battle for control of the Victorian project at a time of record high gold prices.
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
Fears emerge on Liberal religious right that cult inquiry unfairly targets Pentecostal churches
The committee said recruitment tactics included using social events to build rapport (like potluck dinners or youth groups); isolating recruits from 'negative' outsiders; promising secret or higher knowledge; asking recruits to commit in small ways, then escalating; using charismatic leaders; creating insider language and symbols; and targeting vulnerable people. Heath's employee said some examples misrepresented church activities as 'deceptive or sinister' while sports clubs and political parties were ignored. He claimed, in a 'church guidance note' attached to the email, that anonymous submissions 'fuelled by media-driven stereotypes and Facebook groups … could be used to justify new laws that potentially criminalise and censor pastors, leaders and churches and expose them to vexatious legal actions. 'Despite high levels of coercion and control displayed in unions, activist groups, political parties and sport, the Victorian government is targeting religion.' Heath said her office had been contacted by constituents concerned about the inquiry and that she had asked her employee to get in touch with key stakeholders. But she said she had no knowledge of this specific correspondence or the email's content, which was sent from the employee's private email but claimed to be on her behalf. She said her employee had sent the email in good faith, expressing his own opinions about the Geelong Revival Centre. Loading 'My staff member now acknowledges this was based on insufficient information and was a mistake. The allegations against this organisation are serious, and I expect more information will come to light during this inquiry.' Heath is from the Pentecostal church, City Builders, in Gippsland, where her parents are pastors. In 2022, the church rejected allegations it sought to engage improperly in politics or supported gay-conversion therapy. The employee's email ultimately reached devastated survivors who say they faced coercive practices within religious groups and who have found hope in the inquiry. Ryan Carey, from Geelong Revival Centre Survivors and Stop Religious Coercion Australia, said the committee had shown good faith by focusing on behaviours rather than any beliefs. He wants freedom of belief, association and religion. 'We also want it to be safe and free of abuse, exploitation, and harm,' he said. 'Healthy churches shouldn't require survivor groups upon exit. Ours does. 'Survivors are used to having people in power try to silence them and invalidate their stories. This is spit in the face of survivors, and frankly, I think they deserve an apology.' Renee Spencer, from Survivors of Coercive Cults and High-Control Groups, said she was not surprised by Heath's employee's apparent attempt to indirectly influence the inquiry but it was damaging nonetheless. 'Survivors who took the time to dredge up their deepest pain for this inquiry have already retraumatised themselves in the hope of meaningful change and harm prevention. Thankfully, for the most part, we have found people to be empathetic and measured,' Spencer said. Christian legal think tank Freedom for Faith shared concerns religious freedoms could be infringed, in a submission co-signed by Australian Christian Churches, the Baptist Union of Victoria, the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. They were encouraged by the committee's insistence it was not looking to judge faith, and acknowledged coercive control did exist in some religious contexts. But they worried the definition of cult could be expanded 'under anti-religious pressure … to include faiths that involve whole-of-life commitment, and faiths that teach unpopular beliefs (especially concerning sexuality, gender and marriage)'. The Australian Christian Lobby urged against introducing any new legislation, to avoid inadvertently stepping on the right to freedom of expression, religion and association, and agreed there was a risk of mainstream church practices being misinterpreted as 'cult-like'. Loading The bipartisan committee is chaired by Labor MP Ella George, who said Victorians could practise their faith freely without fear. 'There is no truth to any claim that the committee's inquiry is about sanctioning religious practices. The religious beliefs of Victorians are irrelevant to the inquiry's terms of reference,' George said. 'The emphasis is on how these groups operate, not what they believe.' Patrick McIvor left City Builders in 2016 and was the lead author of a submission to the inquiry called 'Beyond Belief', which was endorsed by Survivors of Coercive Cults and High-Control Groups, Stop Religious Control Australia and Victorian Cult Survivors Network. He said the inquiry appeared to have a genuine interest in getting things right. 'I understand the nerves of some groups, particularly some religious groups. And we agree, it shouldn't be about religious groups. Any solution should absolutely uphold freedom of belief, freedom of association, and that's why we've kept the focus [of our submission] squarely on harmful behaviours and not vilifying people.'
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
‘A gift for our opponents': Liberal boss calls for unity to stem electoral bleeding
Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis has called on party members to end 'persistent' internal dramas and accused those mounting a court challenge to the loan to former leader John Pesutto of diverting resources in a 'gift' to Labor. In a memo on Monday afternoon, Davis also sensationally called on members of the administrative committee to resign if they showed contempt for its democratic decisions and breached its code of conduct. 'To succeed we must win the confidence of the people of Victoria. To win we must bring an end to the persistent internal disputation and arguments which are so often reported in the media, creating the public perception of disunity,' Davis wrote in the message to members. The Federal Court in December found that Pesutto repeatedly falsely implied MP Moira Deeming was a Nazi sympathiser in 2023, ordering him to pay damages plus $2.3 million of her legal costs. The 19-member administrative committee in June voted to lend Pesutto $1.55 million, via its investment company, Vapold, to ensure he could cover Deeming's legal costs. The decision spared him bankruptcy and a byelection in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, and neutered the risk of other MPs and former premiers who donated to his defence being chased for costs. The loan was set at a commercial variable interest rate. But five members of the committee – Colleen Harkin, Erin Hunt, Anthony Schneider, Ian Pugh and Marcus Li – are challenging the validity of the loan in the Supreme Court, arguing it would constitute a 'benefit' in breach of the party's constitution. Davis described the proceeding as 'a gift for our political opponents' and diverting party resources.
