Teachers, business owners granted COVID vaccine appeal
The Queensland Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday in favour of seven teachers and 12 small business owners who wish to fight again that the mandate was unlawful.
Gold Coast teacher Cherie Jean Ishiyama was sacked from her job in 2022 after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, breaching the state's mandate for frontline staff, including educators.
Five other teachers and an early childhood educator also refused to be vaccinated, fearing they would be terminated from their jobs due to the mandate.
Among the 12 hospitality owners, many were unvaccinated and could not enter their businesses and were forced to treat staff and visitors differently based on their vaccination status.
Others were fully vaccinated but had to restrict access to patrons who were unvaccinated, which "significantly" impacted turnover.
The group lodged an application in 2022 against the COVID-19 mandate made by the Queensland government and former chief health officer John Gerrard, claiming it was "unlawful" and detrimental to their human rights.
The mandate, which applied to workers in educational settings, correctional services facilities, police watch houses, youth detention centres, and airports, and required only vaccinated people with proof to enter businesses, was revoked later in 2022.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the state government in 2023 to grant summary dismissal because the group was no longer affected by the mandate, given it had been revoked.
The group was also made to pay the state government's costs.
The teachers and business owners appealed the decision, seeking "declaratory relief" and for the state government to instead pay the costs.
Declaratory relief means a court can determine the legal rights of parties without ordering anything to be done or awarding damages.
Again, the state government argued the Supreme Court's decision should be upheld because none of the group was at risk of future prosecution for not complying with the revoked mandate and there were "no foreseeable consequences".
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday granted the appeal and overturned the state government's summary dismissal application.
"There is no other good reason to deny the applicants their day in court in their attempt to establish the merits of their claims for declaratory orders in relation to alleged past contraventions," Justice John Bond ruled.
"There is a strong public interest in determining whether or not there is any merit in their claims."
Justice Bond also ruled the state government and Dr Gerrard must pay the costs of the application.
"There is no good reason why costs should not follow the event, and they should not have their costs in this court and below," Justice Bond said.
The granting of the appeal means the teacher and small business owner's case can now go back before the courts.
It comes after the Queensland Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in 2024 that police and ambulance service workers were unlawfully directed to receive vaccines or face potential disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
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The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Chopper death crash pilot details lies to investigators
A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Delete': Alleged hospital ask of paraplegic crash survivor
A paraplegic pilot who survived a fatal chopper crash says reality television star Matt Wright visited him in hospital and asked him to manipulate flight records before deleting data from his phone. Sebastian Robinson has told the jury in Mr Wright's criminal trial that he was still heavily sedated, in 'very bad shape' and 'hallucinating' when the celebrity croc-wrangler visited him in hospital in March 2022. Just days earlier – on February 28 – Mr Robinson was critically injured when the helicopter he was flying crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land. His friend and egg collector Chris Wilson, who had been slinging beneath the chopper, was killed. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright and his wife Kaia Wright approaching the Supreme Court in Darwin on Tuesday August 12. NewsWire/ Zizi Averill Credit: News Corp Australia The aircraft – a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW – was owned and operated by Mr Wright's since-liquidated company Helibrook. Mr Wright is on trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court after being charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash. The 45-year-old Top End tourism operator has pleaded not guilty to all charges. During his second day of evidence Mr Robinson told the jury that Mr Wright visited him in Royal Brisbane Hospital twice after the crash. The first visit, with his wife Kaia, was on March 11. Mr Robinson said he was hallucinating and 'in a very bad shape'. 'I had tubes coming out of me everywhere, I had braces on my neck, ankles and elbow,' he told the court. 'I was still heavily sedated and under a lot of medication. 'If I wanted to get out of bed I had to put a neck brace on, I had to get a hoist to lift me into a wheelchair.' Mr Robinson said Mr Wright brought some documents with him to the hospital. 'I remember laying in the bed looking down at an arrangement of documents all across in front of me,' he said. Under questioning from crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC, Mr Robinson confirmed Mr Wright had left two documents at the hospital and his mother, Noelene Chellingworth, took a photograph of them. Mr Gullaci asked Mr Robinson why Mr Wright had visited. Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's criminal trial in Darwin. Credit: Unknown / Supplied The 32-year-old said the Outback Wrangler host had wanted 'to manipulate hours on my aircraft'. 'He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, on to my helicopter.' The court heard Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown in VH-IDW on to his own helicopter, registered VH-ZXZ, which was not equipped for egg collecting. 'ZXZ was not fitted with dual hooks to sling people,' he said. 'It was not used for the purpose of human external cargo and was not fitted with the equipment to do so. 'I was still in a pretty bad way, very confused and knew something wasn't right and I said I'd think about it, from memory. 'I remember something along the lines of him saying, 'Just have a think about it and I'll come back and see you tomorrow'.' Mr Wright then visited Mr Robinson in hospital again on March 13 and brought his friend Jai Tomlinson with him. Mr Wright allegedly brought up the transfer of flight hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it. 'I don't think he was upset, from the way I remember it he sort of said, 'that's OK',' he said. Mr Robinson alleged Mr Wright also asked for the injured pilots personal mobile phone. 'He asked to go through my phone and delete a few things,' Mr Robinson said. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things.' Mr Robinson said he also 'vaguely' remembers 'deleting notes out of my phone' while Mr Wright was with him at hospital. 'Start and stop times for IDW for egg collection,' he said. 'They were notes in my iPhone that I would send to him, for example, at the end of the week after a week of collecting. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it.' Snippets of a secret recording made during Mr Wright's hospital visit were also played to the jury. In the recording Mr Wright can allegedly be heard talking to someone on his mobile phone, while in the hospital room with Mr Robinson, about the manipulation of his flight records. Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright can be heard, in one section of the recording, asking someone 'we don't even need to fill a trip sheet out for that do we?'. Mr Robinson said trip sheets had not been used at Helibrook for years and he had not completed one for at least 12 months prior to the crash. 'There was a small period, from memory, with the previous chief pilot, where he showed us how to use them but it wasn't common practice to fill them out,' he said. When Mr Gullaci on Wednesday presented Mr Robinson with three trip sheets he had purportedly filled out in February 2022, Mr Robinson denied it was his handwriting. 'Did you fill that in?' Mr Gullaci asked. 'No I did not,' Mr Robinson said. Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's criminal trial in Darwin. PICTURED: Pilot Sebastian Robinson (l) and Chris Wilson Unknown Credit: Unknown / Supplied 'That's fabricated. I did not do that,' he said. Earlier on Wednesday the court heard Mr Wright was not on the egg-collecting mission the day of the crash 'because he was an anti-vaxxer' so could not enter Arnhem Land where strict COVID restrictions were in place. 'It was just common knowledge that he wasn't vaccinated, so he couldn't do any work in Arnhem Land,' he said. 'Everyone knew that Matt was an anti-vaxxer so he could only fly in places where there weren't restrictions.' Despite this, Mr Wright flew to the remote crash site after learning of the accident. Mr Robinson said there were also restrictions on who could visit him in hospital and that visitors 'had to have a valid COVID certificate'. The trial before acting Justice Alan Blow continues.
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Victoria spent over $1b on a surgery catch-up plan. The financial watchdog can't say if rapid clinics worked
Victoria's billion-dollar COVID catch-up plan for elective surgery fell short of its targets, and the effect of rapid surgical hubs on the health system remains unclear. The government program delivered 30,000 fewer catch-up operations than originally hoped, and this shortfall was driven by issues between the Health Department and the private hospitals tasked with carrying out extra public procedures, the Victorian Auditor-General's Office has found. In a report on its investigation, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, the Auditor-General's Office determined that 209,925 elective procedures had been conducted in the 12 months to July last year – below the catch-up program's target of 240,000 procedures. The watchdog also heard that, as of May this year, there were 583 long-wait patients on the surgery waiting list. This group was already on the waiting list and overdue for surgery as of March 2022. The Auditor-General's Office heard from the department that the surgery shortfall was because private hospitals were either grappling with their own backlogs and infrastructure issues or asking for too much money as part of public-private surgery partnerships. It also heard from one health service that the modelling that helped shape the department's targets was flawed. The Andrews government allocated $1.5 billion to a surgery catch-up plan in April 2022, given the pandemic had triggered a backlog in elective procedures. What the Auditor-General's Office found 1. The department increased the number of planned surgeries and reduced the waiting list, but did not fully meet the plan's targets. 2. The shortfall against the overarching target was mainly from the public-in-private initiative. 3. The plan delivered additional facilities for planned surgeries, but their current and future effect on the health system's performance is unclear. As part of this program, which ran from April 2022 until June 30 last year, public health services were tasked with increasing their partnerships with private hospitals to deliver extra operations. These kinds of operations are called public-in-private surgeries. In the case of Frankston Private Hospital, one of the institutions to add a public surgical centre under the catch-up program, just over 6000 planned procedures were delivered in the 2023-24 financial year. The department's target was 9000 procedures.
