A prominent challenge to the Covid-19 vaccine mandates by an Australian nurse and former women’s AFL player was rejected by a judge as being ‘hypothetical.’
Deni Varnhagen, a former Adelaide Crows player, took the lead in the challenge after being fired from her nursing position last year for refusing to get vaccinated, despite the Emergency Management Act of South Australia mandating that all medical personnel be immunized.
After the state removed the emergency declaration earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Judy Hughes ruled the case was “hypothetical and lacks utility” on Tuesday.
According to Justice Hughes, “the impugned administrative acts that are contested in the primary proceedings are no longer operative in the contested form.”
In addition, Justice Hughes rejected Varnhagen’s arguments on crucial legal issues pertaining to the incorporation of vaccination laws for healthcare workers.
She declared that the transfer, approved by the SA parliament, was legitimate.
Five other people, including two police officers, a teacher, another nurse, a childcare provider, and a childcare worker, initially assisted Varnhagen in her action.
However, only one of them—a fellow nurse named Courtney Millington—kept working on the case.
The case started in December of last year, but it wasn’t finished until five months later, after the parliament passed new laws that replaced the emergency mandate, as a result of numerous delays.
Any challenge to the earlier mandate was now null and void due to the new laws.
Stuart Lindsay, the attorney for Ms. Varnhagen and Ms. Millington, announced that they would appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal.
Outside of court, Mr. Lindsay stated, “This was not a decision about the merit or otherwise of our application; we say it was always a strong and meritorious and legally sound application.”
“We asked for obvious financial reasons,” they said. This legal action is being paid for by the government. Additionally, because these legal issues are so novel. Varnhagen stated during the Supreme Court proceedings that she was unable to make an educated choice on the efficacy or safety of any of the three COVID-19 vaccines that were offered.
She said, “I feel that I am being given no option as to whether I obtain a COVID-19 vaccination because of the guidelines.”
“I feel like I am being forced to do this in order to maintain my job,” the person said.
It’s not over, that much is certain, Ms. Varnhagen assured reporters as she pledged to keep fighting.
After refusing Covid-19 vaccines, the two-time premiership champion was later placed on the Crows’ inactive list for the 2017 season.
All players had to be completely immunized under the AFL, but that condition was dropped in July of this year.