Australian court: Vaccine mandate for frontline workers violated human rights

A supreme court judge in Queensland, Australia ruled Tuesday that the vaccine mandate forced on frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was illegal and violated human rights.

Three complaints were filed in December 2022 by dozens of members of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS). The emergency workers faced disciplinary action for refusing the COVID-19 shots on the orders of then-Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll and then-Queensland Health Director General Dr. John Wakefield.

On Tuesday Justice Glenn Martin ruled that the mandate was “unlawful” and contravened the state’s Human Rights Act, which states that “[a] person must not be subjected to torture; or treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way; or subjected to medical or scientific experimentation or treatment without the person’s full, free and informed consent.”

In a 115-page ruling, Justice Martin cited “the fundamental right not to be subjected to medical treatment without full, free and informed consent which has been impeded by these directions.”

“They were made unlawfully or ineffectively. Non-compliance with those directions could have had life-changing consequences for an employee who declined to comply with the direction,” he wrote.

The judge added that former Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll did not consider the human rights of police officers when she issued the mandate.

“I am not satisfied that the [police] Commissioner has demonstrated that she gave proper consideration to the human rights that might have been affected by her decisions,” the judge said. “I do not accept that the Commissioner had . . . considered whether the decision would be compatible with human rights.

“By failing to give proper consideration, the making of each of those decisions was unlawful.”

Australia made waves around the world when it descended into totalitarian rule during the pandemic. In 2021 Australian Premier Scott Morris promised taxpayers that if 70% of the country received both mRNA doses he would allow up to five people to gather inside the home and up to 20 outdoors. The government’s Spread Freedom campaign allowed Australian taxpayers to buy back their freedom with vaccine doses.

Australian states had their own approach to the pandemic. Authorities in New South Wales, for example, shot dead several rescue dogs so that people would not travel to pick them up.

Queensland was particularly aggressive about vaccinations. In December 2022 Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford urged taxpayers to report citizens who spread “conspiracy theories around COVID-19 vaccination.” 

The advisory came months after Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath admitted being flummoxed about a sudden rise in emergency calls.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone can explain why we saw a 40% jump in code-ones,” she told reporters in April 2022. “And I’ve seen that as I’ve traveled around the state sometimes. I walk into an ambulance service and they’ll say, ‘We had a 30% increase in code-ones yesterday. Can’t tell you why. We just had a lot of heart attacks and chest pains and trouble, you know, breathing and respiratory issues.’ Sometimes you can’t explain why those things happen.”