NSW Government’s COVID NAZI Police fines scrapped retrospectively FINALLY! – all remaining 29,028 meted out during Premier Perrottet’s tyrannical ‘we know what’s best’ regime
NSW Premier Perrottet’s notorious COVID fine blitz.
Just recently, it has been reported in the media from Tuesday 26th November 2024 that New South Wales Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnston is to withdraw and repay more than 23,000 COVID fines issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Johnston said he has exercised his statutory authority to withdraw the fines.
“Following representations made to the commissioner of police and myself concerning the validity of COVID-19 penalty notices, I have decided to exercise my statutory authority and withdraw these notices.”
So same day, the Minns government announced it would also cancel those fines and refund individuals $5.5 million because the notices “contained insufficient details”.
But that is a selected part of the full story. Following a NSW Supreme Court ruling on 29 November 2022, Revenue NSW immediately withdrew 33,121 of the 62,149 COVID fines issued.
Bastard debt collection pit-bulls at Revenue NSW reckon that (quote) it did:
“not mean the offences were not committed” and the remaining fines would “still be required to be paid if not already resolved”.
This is the vindictive hate mentality culture of Revenue NSW. But this is not mentioned in the press release. It must be more junior media lacking historical context and using guesstimate statistics to timely report ‘news’ (Internet copy-paste journos) without checking informed substance yet again.
The entire department of ‘Revenue NSW’ aka ‘State Debt’ aka ‘State Debt Recovery Office’ aka ‘NSW Mafia Extortion’ – all needs to be wound up.
The entire public servant workforce needs to be condemned to be put out to pasture so they can reflect in their latter years while luxuriating on the generous public purse funded out of PM Howard’s 2006 Future Fund, currently worth about A$300 billion.
The subsequent incumbent Minns Mafia Labor Government is only doing this kicking and screaming. The scrapping and refunding of the fines by the Nazis at Revenue NSW is only coming about because the Redfern Legal Centre brought and won a law suit against the Commissioner of Police Mick Fuller matter in the Supreme Court in 2022.
We estimate the remaining total to in fact to be 29,028 of the total of some 62,149 NSW COVID fines that were issued by NSW Police across New South Wales during the two and a half year pandemic lockdown between March 2020 and September 2022.
Best to research validated facts, journo dudes ‘n dudesses, before publishing, eh?
The then NSW Premier Perrottet claimed the remaining 29,028 COVID-19 fines were not withdrawn because of some fabricated excuse that these remaining fines were somehow “formulated differently” having a clearer explanation of the offence.
But how so? That rationale has not been made clear at all. It was really about the money wasn’t it? This questionable claim over to you to fact check, journo dudes ‘n dudesses.
It was a previous extortion racket by unelected installed NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet‘s NSW LNP Government’s tyrannical Police State ‘we know what’s best for you’ reign between Premier Berejiklian’s resignation in October 2021 and the NSW state election in March 2023, when Minns Labor won.
So, after 3 years of Nazi fines, it’s about bloody time!
Never-elected Premier Perrottet, after being LNP Party’s internal elevation from NSW Treasurer into Premier Berejiklian’s job, proved untrustworthy with NSW voters, so after just a year and a half, lost the March 2023 democratic state election to the opposition Labor opposition in a clean sweep.
Perrottet’s since went backbench then sought out ex-polly headhunters outside politics. From July 2024 Perrottet announced a Liberal Mike Baird style private switch to corporate.
Former NSW premier, predecessor to Perrottet’s former premier Gladys Berejiklian, failed Premier Mike Baird resigned from politics to lucrative corporate back to investment banking up to $2.29 million p.a.
Similarly Perrottet’s to follow Labor’s former PM Kevin Rudd’s posting abroad to Washington DC, but to head up BHP mining diplomacy with Trump. Whatever. Good riddance to another dodgy NSW premier in a long line.
So who was driving Perrottet’s Police State COVID fine crackdown?
Well, besides NSW Premier Perrottet in charge, this imbecile: Bradley (health) Hazzard, NSW Minister for Health, Medical Research and Cruise Ship COVID-spreading mishandling between 2017 and 2023.
But he was a science teacher the solicitor, but with no clue about public health.
Plus, this COVID fine blitz was under the watch of NSW Ministers for Police David Elliott MP (Arts Degree) then Paul Toole MP (Teaching Diploma) – neither with any qualifications, experience, knowledge of actual policing no competence in such ministerial responsibilities.
Bradley (health) Hazzard is the same blithering idiot in charge who oversaw two episodes of COVID-19 spread from contaminated cruise ships docking and disembarking in Sydney.
On Thursday 19th March 2020, all 2,700 passengers aboard Carnival Corporation’s cruise ship ‘Ruby Princess‘ were allowed to disembark in Sydney despite the cruise ship previously logging 158 cases of illness. It was later revealed that at least 900 people tested positive and 28 died. The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, publicly admitted three days later on the Sunday that this was a mistake to let passengers disembark.
Carnival Cruises ‘Majestic Princess’ docked in Sydney with 800 COVID cases.
Similarly, on Saturday 12th November 2022 all 4,600 passengers and crew aboard Carnival Corporation’s cruise ship ‘Majestic Princess‘ were allowed to disembark in Sydney’s Circular Quay despite knowing that about 800 passengers had COVID-19. Bradley (health) Hazzard was still NSW Minister for Health.
Carnival party princesses of death or what? Bring back trusted Aussie P&O!
And note that this decision is not coming from the incumbent Minns Mafia Ministry and its Nazi debt collection inquisition, Revenue NSW, but from an embarrassed bureaucrat. But its not Commissioner Johnston’s own kind gesture, but the result of a judicial test case ruling by the Supreme Court of NSW back on 29th November 2022 [citing ‘Beame; Els v Commissioner of Police & Ors [2023] NSWSC 347‘] against the NSW Commissioner of Police (then Mick Fuller) and this NSW Commissioner of Fines Administration.
That’s was a bloody year ago!
Under Section 10 of the Perrottet LNP Government’s rolled out Public Health Act 2010 (NSW), Public Health Regulation 2022 (NSW), Schedule 6 of the Public Health (COVID-19 Mandatory Face Coverings) Order 2021 (NSW), and Public Health (COVID-19 General) Order (NSW) – on-the-spot COVID fines ranged between $500 and $5000 each and even applied to a teenage child (minors aged 13-17).
Check this in (Health) Hazzard’s Public Health Order:
[SOURCE: 6.2.1 Table 1: ‘Penalties for selected NSW COVID-19 (Public Health Order) breaches’, in ‘Children and COVID-19 Fines in NSW ‘IMPACTS AND LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE USE OF
PENALTY NOTICES, 2024 report, by Julia Quilter (University of Wollongong), Luke McNamara (University of New South Wales), Elyse Methven (University of Technology Sydney), Grace Bowles
(University of Wollongong) ]
Bradley had no clue about public health. Yet after “retirement from politics” somehow in 2024, he scammed assuming the Careflight Deputy Chair gig. [^https://careflight.org/]. So, this failed health minister Bradley has never held a pilot licence nor probably even a basic first aid certificate. So who recklessly decided on that political appointment? God help Careflight patients!
So go forth Police Commissioner and Fine, Fine, Fine!
It was a sad excuse to have then be a police officer in New South Wales. No-one trusts police of a Police State. Any decent police officer ordered to issue COVID fines ought to have immediately resigned. Many did, and now not surprisingly, they’re short of recruits. “Nazis welcome?”
So, 80% of all COVID fines (49,696) were issued by NSW coppers within 3 months (July – September 2021) by dictat of Fuller’s ‘Sturmabteilung‘ (NAZI for ‘Assault Department’) went into full-blow Nazi Brownshirt strike force mode.
In May 2020, Premier Berejiklian upped Commissioner Fuller’s salary (excluding perks) from A$649,500 p.a. by at least A$87,000 to A$736,500 p.a., arguing he deserved the boosted salary because of the size of the NSW police force (and the assigned crackdown task, Gladys?)
Compare that to as of 27 August 2023, Australia’s prime minister is paid a total salary of A$586,950 p.a.
According to Revenue NSW, the total value of the COVID penalty fines imposed by Fuller’s Police during the lockdown came to more than $33 million. Fortunately, more than 20,000 of the 62,149 COVID fines were not paid. The fines were invalid anyway.
Bondi Beach COVID Fines: This was not community policing; it was unAustralian NAZI policing! This young lady is sitting by herself away from others as the NSW government had advised, but confusingly changing their rules almost daily – ‘Arthur or Martha’? stuff!
Driving the crackdown also were two specific dictatorial statute laws of the NSW Parliament, the hastily amended Fines Act 1996 (NSW) and the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW). The Supreme Court of NSW has subsequently found both amended laws to have been badly drafted and rushed through by the Perrottet NSW Government in a desperate knee-jerk response to stem the pandemic.
Two example penalty notice offences were so vague as to be deemed invalid in law.
The first penalty notice read:
“Unlawfully participate in outdoor public gathering – area of concern – Individual”
The second penalty notice read:
“Fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 – COVID-19 – Individual”
How stupidly vague are these?
Supreme Court Justice Fagan decided penalty notice offences to be invalid, which by extension has meant the entire 62,149 COVID fines issued by Herr Fuller’s overzealous NSW Gestapo Police were a diversion and waste of NSW Police resources to the tune of many hundreds of millions over those 2.5 years.
All police have been discredited in the eyes of the NSW community, particularly all the innocents fined for doing nothing wrong.
The
COVID offence: Loitering by oneself on a Aussie beach with intent to infect? The ladies: “He did it”. Heavy handed on a NSW beach – fine guilty before proven innocent! And check the unmasked background in this photo.
“I am fuxking God!” – the bullying attitude of NSW Police
Fuller’s ‘Sturmabteilung‘ (it’s original Hitler NAZI for ‘Assault Department’)
The NSW Government’s totalitarian response during government quarantine abject failure that was ‘COVID’ – well fits this ‘Waratah in Gaol’ label. Such that it remains a fearful logo in the minds of many tens of thousands of New South Wales citizens intimidated by this Police State, and never to be forgotten!
Following the NSW Supreme Court ruling on 29 November 2022, Revenue NSW immediately withdrew 33,121 of the 62,149 COVID fines issued. But how this particular figure was reached is unclear, however arithmetically, a balance of 29,028 fines thus remains active by Revenue NSW debt collector garnishee and assault department.
Redfern Legal Centre has continued its championing of ordinary folk who copped the illegal COVID fines. It’s rightly pressuring the incumbent NSW Government to withdraw all those remaining penalty notices issued under the NSW COVID-19 Public Health Order) regime.
Samantha Lee, Redfern Legal Centre’s police accountability solicitor has stated of that ruling:
“This judgment calls into disrepute all remaining COVID-19 fines because the fines do not meet the legal requirements of a valid penalty notice. The government must now do the right thing and withdraw all COVID-19 fines that were issued – including those offences which individuals elected to take to court and any work and development orders – and reimburse fines already paid. This case is not about COVID-19 or about public health orders. It is about ensuring the rule of law is adhered to even in a time of crisis.”
Commissioner Fuller’s COVID fine crackdown was deliberately racist against vulnerable fringe Australians
Herr Fuller, in his commanded quest for maximum fine performance on a bonus basis, he went after the low hanging fruit – the young, even minors, Aborigines, the poor, the homeless…
It was so low-brow.
This bullying, insensitive, disrespectful and targeted money grab would set the stage for NSW Government’s underhand extortionate Grant clawback Blitzkreig programme by its Nazi Greg Wells from 2022.
“Some people lost their licence, some people couldn’t register their vehicles, particularly those living in regional areas. It was a real detrimental impact on them. Having this lifted is a real justice in their circumstances, but it’s something that should have been done many, many months ago, and the fact that the government has waited so long is the appalling aspect of this whole story.Some households were fined $10,000, with the majority of those fines issued to people in low socio-economic and First Nations communities.”
Nazism Downunder – read this article:
[SOURCE: ‘Complaint lodged against NSW Police over ‘excessive’ COVID fines‘, 2023-06-05, ^https://rlc.org.au/news-and-media/media-releases/complaint-lodged-against-nsw-police-over-excessive-covid-fines ]
“Watchdog urged to investigate former police chief and entire force over COVID fines.
Officers accused of using ‘unreasonable and oppressive’ tactics.
Areas with large First Nations populations and high disadvantage were hit with more fines
A complaint has been lodged against former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller and NSW Police over their heavy-handed approach to handing out more than 60,000 COVID-19 fines during the pandemic.
Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) have called for the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) to investigate potential misconduct arising from Mr Fuller’s directives given in an internal video prepared for NSW Police Force officers, published by the SMH.
The directives included:
- That officers “start to issue tickets over using discretion”;
- That officers take a “strong approach to enforcement”;
- Suggesting officers would not be held to account if they issued fines incorrectly; and…
- Issuing a “challenge” to officers to “go high-level enforcement”.
RLC Chief Executive Officer Camilla Pandolfini said the large numbers of fines issued suggest that NSW Police officers abandoned their appropriate lawful discretionary decision making and instead defaulted to issuing fines.
PIAC CEO Jonathon Hunyor:
“Mr Fuller’s approach was potentially unlawful and may amount to maladministration. NSW Police opted for a punitive approach at a time when communities were struggling with changing public health orders and the impacts of a global pandemic. We are asking the LECC to closely scrutinise what look like unreasonable and oppressive tactics employed by police and their heavy impact on people already facing disadvantage.”
The legal centres argue NSW Police’s actions had a particularly negative impact on groups experiencing disadvantage, such as people experiencing homelessness, people with mental illness or other disability, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The LECC has been asked to consider whether police acted unjustly and unreasonably in issuing fines without adequately considering whether people had committed an offence or had a reasonable excuse for their actions.
NSW issued 62,141 COVID-19 penalty notices between March 2020 and September 2022, 49,696 (80 per cent) of which were issued in July, August and September 2021, following the directives.
Jonathon Hunyor, CEO, Public Interest Advocacy Centre:
“Heavy-handed policing approaches are too common as a response to social challenges like the COVID pandemic. It’s important they are closely scrutinsed by bodies like the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission so police are not operating with impunity. The former Commissioner urged officers to put community policing to the side at what was arguably the most challenging time of the pandemic. This was not only damaging to community trust and resilience, but we are concerned it may have been unlawful and amount to misconduct or maladministration.”
Camilla Pandolfini, CEO, Redfern Legal Centre:
“During the pandemic, Redfern Legal Centre provided advice to hundreds of people who were issued with a COVID fine. Many of these fines were subsequently withdrawn by Revenue NSW after the Supreme Court found that the fines were invalid. Police told many of our clients they were no longer giving warnings and issued them with fines of $1000, $3000 or $5000. We spoke with many members of the community experiencing disadvantage who were distressed by the fines issued to them. The very real impact of these fines on members of our community was huge. Some of our clients were as young as 12 years old when NSW Police officers issued fines to them. Parents called us, in tears, unable to pay the fines issued to their young children. People experiencing homelessness, with significant mental health conditions, or returning home from their shift as health workers were fined by NSW Police. Many of these people were not actually in breach of the directions.”
Key findings by PIAC and RLC:
“Between March 2020 and December 2021, police overwhelmingly preferred enforcement by issuing penalty notices (86 per cent), as opposed to cautions, warnings or court attendance notices.
While the discretion of police officers to consider diversionary options and mitigating factors was curtailed by the directives, officer discretion to choose who to target, and which geographic areas to police, was not. The data suggests that this discretion was used in a discriminatory way.
History Repeats
Between 1 July 2020 and 10 October 2021, the towns where the most COVID fines were issued (adjusted for population size) were:
- Walgett
- Brewarrina
- Wilcannia
- Coonamble
- Bourke
- Goodooga
- Warren
- Collarenebri
- Moree
- Mt Druitt.
These are areas with significant (Aboriginal) First Nations populations and high levels of disadvantage. The Centre for Crime Law and Justice has concluded that the data shows :
“the over-representation of socio-economically disadvantaged suburbs and towns“.
References :
[1] ‘NSW government to withdraw and repay more than 23,000 fines issued during the COVID-19 pandemic‘, 2024-11-26, by Joshua Boscaini and Sam Nichols, ABC, ^https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-26/nsw-covid-19-fines-withdrawn/104649680
[3] Kosciolek v Commissioner of Police [2024] NSWSC 15, 22 November 2023, Supreme Court New South Wales, Principal Judgment, brought by plaintiff Redfern Legal Centre, ^https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18d528774d074aa6f08aae72
[4] ‘COVID-19 fine court cases under review in NSW following Supreme Court decision‘, 2023-04-18, by Daniel Jeffrey, 9News, ^https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-fines-nsw-covid-19-fine-local-court-cases-review-supreme-court-decision/8ef8ddd3-361b-49da-ad4d-1b3319a1bf77
[5] ‘Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet resigns from parliament‘, 2024-07-19, by state political reporters Nick Dole and Alexander Lewis, ABC,
^https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/nsw-former-premier-dominic-perrottet-resigns-politics/104116458
[6] ‘Complaint lodged against NSW Police over ‘excessive’ COVID fines‘, 2023-06-05, by Justice and Equity Centre, [^https://jec.org.au/about/contact-us/], ^https://jec.org.au/civil-rights/policing-and-detention/complaint-lodged-against-nsw-police-over-excessive-covid-fines/
[7] ‘More than 23,000 wild Covid-era fines will be refunded in a major concession from the NSW government after thousands of residents were sprung by cops over everyday activities‘, 2024-11-26, by Gemma Crotty, SkyNews, ^https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/nsw-govt-scraps-more-than-23000-covid-fines-with-55m-to-be-refunded-in-concession-over-draconian-restrictions/news-story/05cb401a12c199cb5524c1ebadcaf9c8