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Women’s AFL star has thrown her Covid anti-vaccine mandate campaign out of court but swears ‘it’s not over yet’
- South Australia Supreme Court dismisses AFLW star Deni Varnhagen case
- Former Crow’s player was put on inactive list after refusal Covid-19 sting
- Judge ruled the case was ‘hypothetical’ because vaccination mandates had changed
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An Australian nurse and former women’s AFL player has lost a high-profile challenge to Covid-19 vaccine mandates after a court found it ‘hypothetical’.
Former Adelaide Crows player Deni Varnhagen led the challenge after losing her job as a nurse last year for refusing to get a shot, despite South Australia’s Emergency Management Act requiring health workers to be vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Judge Judy Hughes ruled that the case was “hypothetical and futile” after the state removed the emergency statement earlier this year.
“The challenged administrative acts that are being challenged in the primary proceedings are no longer in force in the challenged form,” said Judge Hughes.
Inactive AFLW player Deni Varnhagen (pictured, arriving at South Australia’s Supreme Court) case against South Australia’s mandatory vaccination requirements was thrown out after a judge found it ‘hypothetical and useless’
Judge Hughes also ruled against Varnhagen on important points of law related to the transfer of health worker vaccine requirements to public health laws.
She said the transfer issued by the SA parliament was valid.
Varnhagen was initially joined by five other people, another nurse, a nanny, a teacher and two police officers.
But only one of them, co-nurse Courtney Millington, went ahead with the case.
The case began in December last year but was closed five months later due to repeated delays – after parliament passed new laws overtaking the emergency mandate.
The new laws meant that any challenge to the previous mandate was no longer valid.
Ms Varnhagen and Ms Millington’s lawyer Stuart Lindsay said they would appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.
“This was not a decision on the strength of our application, we say it has always been a strong and deserving and legally correct application,” Mr Lindsay said out of court.
“We asked for obvious reasons related to cost. This is a government funded lawsuit. But also because the legal issues involved are so new.’
The two-time premiership winner, who is also a nurse, was placed on the Adelaide Crows inactive list last season after refusing Covid-19 vaccinations (pictured, Deni Varnhagen during the AFLW Grand Final game between the Crows and Carlton Blues in Adelaide Oval, Adelaide in 2019)
During the Supreme Court hearings, Varnhagen argued that she could not make an informed decision about the effectiveness or safety of any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines.
“I believe that, because of the indications, I have no choice whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine,” she claimed.
“I believe I’m being forced to do that to keep my job.”
Ms Varnhagen promised to fight on and told reporters out of court, “It’s not over yet, that’s for sure.”
The two-time premiership winner was subsequently put on the Crows’ inactive list last season after refusing Covid-19 vaccinations.
The AFL required all players to be fully vaccinated – a requirement that was dropped in July this year.