Today is the start of new financial year and with this start I would like my sponsors – in alphabetical order
- The Australasian College of Paramedicine;
- The Australian Paramedics Association (NSW);
- Natural Hazards Research Australia;
- The NSW Rural Fire Service Association; and
- The NSW SES Volunteers Association.
for there continued support of the blog. I would also like to welcome a new sponsor the Australian Paramedics Association (Qld) who have joined with their NSW colleagues to support the work. It is gratifying to see that both those that write to me, and the industry leaders, see this blog is a worthwile endeavour.
Below is a report outlining the output of the blog for the last 12 months
I would like to thank everyone who has written with a question or a comment for their contribution. I particularly value those comments that have pointed out errors or omissions or added important detail to my posts. We can all make mistakes and the idea is to have a learning tool so anything that corrects errors and helps to ensure that the information here is the best it can be is a great help.
Even so, I remain responsible for the content of the blog including any errors or omissions. Any opinions expressed are mine, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or understanding of the donors, agencies or those asking teh question.
I look forward to continuing the blog for the next 12 months and beyond.
Michael Eburn.
Australian Emergency Law 
Your views and generosity are appreciated.
Thank you Michael
Tom Reeve
Farmer
Mirum Creek Organics
p:
02 6653 8763 m: 0414 285 109
a:
368d Dairyville Rd Upper Orara, NSW 2450, Australia
w:
http://mirumcreek.com.au/ mirumcreek.com.au e: tom@mirumcreek.com.au tom@mirumcreek.com.au
Please continue the blog for as long as you can Michael, we need the voice, the opinion and the knowledge. Its a minefield out there and as frontline workers we are at the forefront and often the first to get embroiled in anything questionable. Though I am convinced a good number of us are little odd, I do think the overwhelming majority tries to do the right thing every time. There are not enough credible platforms and spaces out there for paramedics to voice and share , I guess as we are so fragmented due to the ridiculous concept of division that skill sets bring about. We will continue to face this until the profession plateaus into a more universal skill set or two. Regardless I personally find your blog a source of information at times a jaw dropper with the legal twists, it allows for two way interaction and at most an unbiased opinion from some one who understands the profession. Well done
Hi Mike
Firstly thanks for your continued efforts with the blog.
Can you give an opinion on the outcome of a Jersey Court case where, it appears a Paramedic and EMT have been prosecuted for ensuring their own safety.
The questions are:
Could that occur in Australia.
Does this set a precedent that could be used here
I am in WA, where we are told our safety is paramount which I am sure is the training in all Ambulance jurisdictions in Australia and New Zealand.
Regards
David Bromell
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg4xl39qrgo
[https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/7c62/live/50904460-3581-11ef-8446-c7ca829c0b3f.jpg]https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg4xl39qrgo
Jersey paramedics backed by 150 supporters after guilty verdicthttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg4xl39qrgo
John Sutherland and Technician Tom Le Sauteur withdrew from a house after fearing for their safety.
http://www.bbc.com
I cannot comment on the Jersey case as the press don’t give enough details. It’s not even clear under what law they’ve been charged but it sounds like it might be the occupational/workplace health and safety legislation. There is not sufficient detail as to what happened, what the Crown alleges was their failure and the nature of any defence.
The article says it was an 8 day trial and we can see from the court list that this matter was before the court on every day in the week commencing 17 June (see https://australianemergencylaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/id-royal-court-weekly-listing.pdf). If this was a trial without a jury then we can expect the judges decision will be published on the Jersey Law website (see https://www.jerseylaw.je/judgments/Pages/Search.aspx). The most recent judgement is dated 17 June so they may still be getting this online and if it was an eight day trial the judge(s) may be taking time to write their decision. If it was a jury trial there will be no judgment to put up. Even if it was a judge alone trial they may also hold off publishing it until the sentencing process is complete. What follows is that I’ll only have sufficient details to be able to comment when a judgement is published which may be never or may have to wait until they are sentenced. We’ll certainly get the details if there is an appeal; but pending a judgment I cannot comment on the facts.
I can say that I have never seen, nor heard, of the Royal Court of Jersey being cited as a ‘precedent’ in an Australian court. In any event trial decisions, and in particualr jury decisions (if there was one) do not constitute a precedent (see https://australianemergencylaw.com/2016/11/18/accessing-a-judge-or-magistrates-reasons-for-decision/) so I think we can safely say this does not set a precedent that could be used in Australia.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention though and I’ll try to keep a lookout for a judgment and if you also want to keep your eye on the Jersey Law webpage, between us we’ll see if a judgment is published.