Ex-TV star asks to be spared conviction for Nazi salute
Former Neighbours and McLeod's Daughters actor Damien Patrick Richardson, 55, faced Moorabbin Magistrates Court in suburban Melbourne supported by his mother on Friday.
He has been charged with performing a Nazi salute on September 14, 2024.
Richardson is accused of intentionally performing the salute "whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology" in a public place at Urban St restaurant in McKinnon, the court was told.
Defence, prosecution and Richardson all appeared online on Friday morning, but magistrate Luisa Bazzani asked them to come into the court in person.
Richardson's lawyer Peter Monagle said his client was preparing material to hand to prosecutors asking he be given a diversion.
Diversion would mean Richardson is spared a criminal conviction for the offence, however the prosecution must agree to this and then recommend it to a magistrate.
Mr Monagle said if the diversion was not accepted by the prosecution then the matter would proceed to a three-hour contest mention.
"The issues in dispute are legal," he told the court.
"There was an action performed by my client, but there are provisions in the act that we say cover that, but the prosecution argues doesn't cover that."
He said there was no relevant prior case law, because the only people convicted of the offence "openly said they were Nazis".
The first Victorian convicted of performing the gesture in public was Jacob Hersant, a far-right extremist who was handed a one-month jail term and is appealing this.
Hersant performed the salute in front of news cameras in October 2023, days after it was outlawed.
Mr Monagle asked for time to gather materials in favour of diversion, including character and work references, and said Richardson has four letters from people who were at the event in question.
Ms Bazzani said if diversion is accepted, the matter will go before a magistrate for consideration.
If diversion is not accepted by the prosecution, then it is open for Richardson to enter a plea and seek a sentence indication, she said.
Richardson, who is on summons, will next face court on July 15.
He starred as Gary Canning in Neighbours from 2014 to 2020, and also appeared in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth.
He retired from acting in 2021 and unsuccessfully stood as a political candidate in the 2022 federal and state elections.
An ex-television soap star is asking to be spared a criminal conviction for allegedly performing a Nazi salute.
Former Neighbours and McLeod's Daughters actor Damien Patrick Richardson, 55, faced Moorabbin Magistrates Court in suburban Melbourne supported by his mother on Friday.
He has been charged with performing a Nazi salute on September 14, 2024.
Richardson is accused of intentionally performing the salute "whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology" in a public place at Urban St restaurant in McKinnon, the court was told.
Defence, prosecution and Richardson all appeared online on Friday morning, but magistrate Luisa Bazzani asked them to come into the court in person.
Richardson's lawyer Peter Monagle said his client was preparing material to hand to prosecutors asking he be given a diversion.
Diversion would mean Richardson is spared a criminal conviction for the offence, however the prosecution must agree to this and then recommend it to a magistrate.
Mr Monagle said if the diversion was not accepted by the prosecution then the matter would proceed to a three-hour contest mention.
"The issues in dispute are legal," he told the court.
"There was an action performed by my client, but there are provisions in the act that we say cover that, but the prosecution argues doesn't cover that."
He said there was no relevant prior case law, because the only people convicted of the offence "openly said they were Nazis".
The first Victorian convicted of performing the gesture in public was Jacob Hersant, a far-right extremist who was handed a one-month jail term and is appealing this.
Hersant performed the salute in front of news cameras in October 2023, days after it was outlawed.
Mr Monagle asked for time to gather materials in favour of diversion, including character and work references, and said Richardson has four letters from people who were at the event in question.
Ms Bazzani said if diversion is accepted, the matter will go before a magistrate for consideration.
If diversion is not accepted by the prosecution, then it is open for Richardson to enter a plea and seek a sentence indication, she said.
Richardson, who is on summons, will next face court on July 15.
He starred as Gary Canning in Neighbours from 2014 to 2020, and also appeared in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth.
He retired from acting in 2021 and unsuccessfully stood as a political candidate in the 2022 federal and state elections.
An ex-television soap star is asking to be spared a criminal conviction for allegedly performing a Nazi salute.
Former Neighbours and McLeod's Daughters actor Damien Patrick Richardson, 55, faced Moorabbin Magistrates Court in suburban Melbourne supported by his mother on Friday.
He has been charged with performing a Nazi salute on September 14, 2024.
Richardson is accused of intentionally performing the salute "whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology" in a public place at Urban St restaurant in McKinnon, the court was told.
Defence, prosecution and Richardson all appeared online on Friday morning, but magistrate Luisa Bazzani asked them to come into the court in person.
Richardson's lawyer Peter Monagle said his client was preparing material to hand to prosecutors asking he be given a diversion.
Diversion would mean Richardson is spared a criminal conviction for the offence, however the prosecution must agree to this and then recommend it to a magistrate.
Mr Monagle said if the diversion was not accepted by the prosecution then the matter would proceed to a three-hour contest mention.
"The issues in dispute are legal," he told the court.
"There was an action performed by my client, but there are provisions in the act that we say cover that, but the prosecution argues doesn't cover that."
He said there was no relevant prior case law, because the only people convicted of the offence "openly said they were Nazis".
The first Victorian convicted of performing the gesture in public was Jacob Hersant, a far-right extremist who was handed a one-month jail term and is appealing this.
Hersant performed the salute in front of news cameras in October 2023, days after it was outlawed.
Mr Monagle asked for time to gather materials in favour of diversion, including character and work references, and said Richardson has four letters from people who were at the event in question.
Ms Bazzani said if diversion is accepted, the matter will go before a magistrate for consideration.
If diversion is not accepted by the prosecution, then it is open for Richardson to enter a plea and seek a sentence indication, she said.
Richardson, who is on summons, will next face court on July 15.
He starred as Gary Canning in Neighbours from 2014 to 2020, and also appeared in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth.
He retired from acting in 2021 and unsuccessfully stood as a political candidate in the 2022 federal and state elections.
An ex-television soap star is asking to be spared a criminal conviction for allegedly performing a Nazi salute.
Former Neighbours and McLeod's Daughters actor Damien Patrick Richardson, 55, faced Moorabbin Magistrates Court in suburban Melbourne supported by his mother on Friday.
He has been charged with performing a Nazi salute on September 14, 2024.
Richardson is accused of intentionally performing the salute "whilst knowing that the symbol is associated with Nazi ideology" in a public place at Urban St restaurant in McKinnon, the court was told.
Defence, prosecution and Richardson all appeared online on Friday morning, but magistrate Luisa Bazzani asked them to come into the court in person.
Richardson's lawyer Peter Monagle said his client was preparing material to hand to prosecutors asking he be given a diversion.
Diversion would mean Richardson is spared a criminal conviction for the offence, however the prosecution must agree to this and then recommend it to a magistrate.
Mr Monagle said if the diversion was not accepted by the prosecution then the matter would proceed to a three-hour contest mention.
"The issues in dispute are legal," he told the court.
"There was an action performed by my client, but there are provisions in the act that we say cover that, but the prosecution argues doesn't cover that."
He said there was no relevant prior case law, because the only people convicted of the offence "openly said they were Nazis".
The first Victorian convicted of performing the gesture in public was Jacob Hersant, a far-right extremist who was handed a one-month jail term and is appealing this.
Hersant performed the salute in front of news cameras in October 2023, days after it was outlawed.
Mr Monagle asked for time to gather materials in favour of diversion, including character and work references, and said Richardson has four letters from people who were at the event in question.
Ms Bazzani said if diversion is accepted, the matter will go before a magistrate for consideration.
If diversion is not accepted by the prosecution, then it is open for Richardson to enter a plea and seek a sentence indication, she said.
Richardson, who is on summons, will next face court on July 15.
He starred as Gary Canning in Neighbours from 2014 to 2020, and also appeared in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth.
He retired from acting in 2021 and unsuccessfully stood as a political candidate in the 2022 federal and state elections.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
This trio has mapped hundreds of murals in Melbourne. Here are 15 of the best
Melburnians are pretty proud of their city's prolific street art. But when Neda Nikolic found the world's largest online urban art community that maps such works, she noticed Melbourne was underrepresented. So, two years ago, she teamed up with friend Andrew Haysom, and later Lia Arraiano, to add Melbourne's murals to the Street Art Cities database. Today, Melbourne is the No.1 city in the world for total street art recorded on the platform, with 3639 masterpieces logged – up from being ranked 43rd in July 2023. This Victorian trio says it's added 3272 works. 'We've got so many wonderful artists across Melbourne,' says Haysom, who became Street Art Cities' Australian manager this year. 'That's why this city's scene is so special.' In May, the trio lifted Australia to No.1 for total street art on the platform, which only accepts select 'hunters' with adequate photography skills to capture art and describe a work's location and background. 'It's very addictive,' says Nikolic. 'This is like the Olympics of street art.' Melbourne's contemporary street art scene has also changed immensely in recent decades: First, there was the underground graffiti subculture of the 1980s and 1990s. Then, there was the Banksy-boom of stencils in the 2000s. Later, major murals took off in the 2010s. But the first big wall-art installation, which helped kick-start the large murals across Melbourne today, was famed New Yorker Keith Haring's work at Collingwood Yards, which is now heritage-listed.
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
This trio has mapped hundreds of murals in Melbourne. Here are 15 of the best
Melburnians are pretty proud of their city's prolific street art. But when Neda Nikolic found the world's largest online urban art community that maps such works, she noticed Melbourne was underrepresented. So, two years ago, she teamed up with friend Andrew Haysom, and later Lia Arraiano, to add Melbourne's murals to the Street Art Cities database. Today, Melbourne is the No.1 city in the world for total street art recorded on the platform, with 3639 masterpieces logged – up from being ranked 43rd in July 2023. This Victorian trio says it's added 3272 works. 'We've got so many wonderful artists across Melbourne,' says Haysom, who became Street Art Cities' Australian manager this year. 'That's why this city's scene is so special.' In May, the trio lifted Australia to No.1 for total street art on the platform, which only accepts select 'hunters' with adequate photography skills to capture art and describe a work's location and background. 'It's very addictive,' says Nikolic. 'This is like the Olympics of street art.' Melbourne's contemporary street art scene has also changed immensely in recent decades: First, there was the underground graffiti subculture of the 1980s and 1990s. Then, there was the Banksy-boom of stencils in the 2000s. Later, major murals took off in the 2010s. But the first big wall-art installation, which helped kick-start the large murals across Melbourne today, was famed New Yorker Keith Haring's work at Collingwood Yards, which is now heritage-listed.
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
Greg made an insurance claim after a serious bike crash. Then a private investigator came calling
'When someone makes a workers' compensation claim, the insurer needs to figure out two main things: whether the person meets the definition of a 'worker' and whether the injury is one that falls under the scheme,' Denning said. 'To do that, they often ask for personal detail, like how the person was employed, where they live, and exactly what was happening when the injury occurred. That's especially the case for injuries that happen on a journey to or from work.' Denning said if someone was worried about what could happen with their data – especially if the claim ends up being rejected – it was a good idea to speak with a lawyer before proceeding. Under Victorian legislation, employees are entitled to compensation if their injury arises 'out of or in the course of any employment'. But as the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry notes, 'there is no single definition of what will and will not be deemed to be a work-related injury' – leading to ambiguity on whether a worker's injury should lead to compensation. The chamber said the legislation provided 'some clarity by listing several examples deemed to be 'in the course of employment', such as where the worker is travelling for the purpose of their employment, or where they are injured whilst attending a compulsory training course'. Insurer Allianz Australia, an authorised agent of the Victorian WorkCover Authority, rejected Muller's claim because he was injured during his commute outside work hours. 'Allianz has determined that your injuries have not arisen in or out of the course of your employment … you sustained the injuries while travelling from your home to your workplace,' it said. Allianz did not respond to requests for comment on Muller's case. Loading Muller accepts the decision to reject his claim but does not understand why he was interviewed about his personal life when his accident did not fall under WorkCover's umbrella. 'I thought, why the hell did I go through all this? This should never have proceeded,' he said. He is also frustrated that Allianz says it is unable to delete his personal information – particularly when large-scale cyber breaches are increasingly common. 'Regarding the request to erase information obtained during the claim investigation, please note that we are unable to delete this information. However, rest assured that no personal data will be disclosed externally,' it said. Investigators are not required to determine whether a person is eligible for WorkCover before interviewing them about their personal life. WorkSafe, which manages workers' compensation in Victoria, said investigators had a responsibility to ask a wide range of questions regarding a claimant's personal and health matters to assess a claim. It also said it was required to hold on to claimants' data for various periods in case claimants made future claims or launched legal proceedings. John Pane, data privacy expert and chair of digital rights not-for-profit Electronic Frontiers Australia, said the Victorian and federal governments needed to update privacy laws to require organisations to delete individuals' data on request, as happened in the European Union. 'There is no current right in Australia that grants individuals the power to demand that their personal data be deleted from any organisation that holds it, even if they unlawfully or erroneously captured it,' Pane said. 'And the retention period of these records could be for a substantial period of time.' While there is no 'right to erasure' in this country, Allianz is required, under the Australian Privacy Principles, to only use or disclose personal information 'for the purpose for which it is collected'. Taxpayers have poured more than $1.3 billion into WorkCover to help cover the rising cost of claims, particularly in mental health-related claims. There were 35,575 new claims to WorkCover in the 2024 financial year, up 25 per cent in three years.
