Refunding Covid Fines Should Be Just the Start

Despite the NSW Supreme Court ruling, our politicians and public servants still don't get it

A NSW Supreme Court decision that more than 23,000 fines issued during Covid were unlawful is an admission that the entire pandemic response was an absolute disaster.

What on earth possessed authorities during that period?

I well remember a Newcastle man being fined $1000 for sitting on a bench eating a kebab during lockdown.

And I recall when a couple from the Hunter Valley were fined by police for sitting in their car without “a reasonable excuse not to be at home”.

It was a time when police patrolled beaches, writing tickets for people who were sun-baking.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller warned people …

“To those that continue to flout the laws that have been put into place, we can put you in jail for six months.”

Six months jail … for trying to get a tan?

It was a shameful episode in Australian history.

Now the NSW State Government will repay $5.5m in fines. Outstanding fines will be cancelled.

The 23,000 cancelled fines is on top of more than 30,000 that were cancelled back in 2022. It means that all the 60,000 or so fines issued for breaching public health orders during the pandemic are now null and void.

If I had my way, the government would come up with the money to refund these fines by fining every official who formulated and administered these ridiculous laws in the first place - starting with the then Police Commissioner.

That would be just the start …