A legal challenge to Covid-19 stay-at-home orders brought by a woman who protested against Victoria’s second wave lockdown has been dismissed. On Tuesday the Victorian supreme court rejected Kerry Cotterill’s case, finding neither the orders nor the Public Health and Wellbeing Act breached the implied freedom of political communication. The infringement notice was withdrawn, but Cotterill pushed on with a case against Victoria’s deputy public health commander, Finn Romanes, and chief health officer, Brett Sutton. Niall accepted that people could leave home for multiple purposes but said the health orders meant “a person may only leave their residence for a permitted purpose or permitted purposes”. That is because stay-at-home orders were “consistent with the maintenance of constitutional government”, “rationally connected” to the public health purpose and alternatives were not equally effective, he said.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2021 03:45 UTC