The lawyer for a former NRL star turned boxing champion has criticized an “unjustifiably oppressive” move to prosecute his client for allegedly breaching public health laws during the pandemic.
Anthony Mundine, 49, appeared at Bankstown Local Court on Friday after pleading not guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a COVID notice order on July 21, 2021.
Police allege the retired athlete, known as ‘The Man’, failed to scan a QR code to check in at a Bunnings store in Kingsgrove, in Sydney’s south, when the state was in lockdown.
The outspoken former St George Illawarra Dragons player was also allegedly not wearing a mask while inside the store, but claimed he was exempt from the mask mandate.
Mundine, 49, appeared at Bankstown Local Court on Friday after pleading not guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a COVID notice order.
The former boxer, pictured facing off against John Wayne-Parr, called the accusation “oppressive”.
On Friday, his lawyer Christopher Parkin requested a permanent stay of the proceedings, arguing that his client’s prosecution constituted “an abuse of process.”
“It is unfairly and unjustifiably oppressive to Mr Mundine,” he told the court.
“(And) it would discredit the administration of justice.”
Parkin said the penalty notice issued to Mundine was “identical” to another found invalid in a NSW Supreme Court decision by Justice Dina Yehia last year.
The ruling reinforced Judge Yehia’s initial ruling in 2022, which led to the cancellation of more than 33,000 COVID sanctions that had not provided sufficient details about the crime.
Parkin told the court Mr Mundine’s fine fell into the category of penalties that had been dismissed by Revenue NSW.
“But because Mr. Mundine decided to take this matter to court about two months before this decision, the Fine Administrator… did not take up this matter,” he said.
Magistrate Glenn Walsh said Judge Yehia’s decision showed that a valid penalty notice required identification of the legal basis and asked whether that was clear for Mundine.
Police prosecutor Yavin Kumar said Mundine had been questioned by police in an exchange captured on body camera, but did not recall whether the legal basis for the crime had been raised.
He explained that the case against the former boxing champion was based on evidence external to the penalty notice, such as witness statements and CCTV footage.
Magistrate Walsh said any decision he made about whether to stay proceedings would ultimately end up in the state’s highest court.
“If I grant it, it will go to the Supreme Court,” he told Mr. Kumar.
“If I don’t do it, you’ll be running to the Supreme Court,” he told Mr. Parkin.
The case has been adjourned until August, which will mark the fifth time ‘The Man’ has appeared in court over the matter.
After consulting with Mr Mundine, Mr Parkin withdrew the request for a permanent suspension.
Magistrate Walsh then adjourned the matter until August, when it is expected to be finalised.
It will be Mundine’s fifth time in court over the three-year-old charge.
Outside the courthouse, he told NewsWire he was “waiting for everything to be done.”
The 49-year-old has continued to use social media to share his anti-vaccine views, telling his tens of thousands of followers to do their research, “it’s a death wish.”
In February, he shared a photo of himself lying on the ground beneath a vaccination syringe with the caption “the writing is on the wall” with two skull emojis.
Mundine rose to prominence as a rugby player after signing with St George Illawarra Dragons at the age of 18.
Sensationally, he made the switch to boxing in 2000 and won three world titles.
