NSW lawyer who fought vaccine mandate suspended from practice
Photo: AAP
A lawyer who has railed against COVID-19 restrictions and sought to challenge them in the courts has been suspended from legal practice.
Nathan Buckley of Sydney law firm G&B Lawyers was suspended on Friday for at least six months.
The Council of the Law Society made the decision after forming the view he could not discharge his duty to the administration of justice.
The council also found Mr Buckley had failed in his duties not to engage in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, not to engage in conduct likely to bring the legal profession into disrepute, and to be honest and courteous in his dealings.
His practising certificate has been suspended until 30 June 2022, at which point he can apply for another one.
G&B Lawyers was behind a failed legal challenge to public health orders mandating vaccinations for some workers in NSW.
Last month, Mr Buckley launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $1 million to fight against the suspension of his practising certificate.
He claimed the NSW Law Society wanted to “silence” him for “pointing out the truth” about the NSW Supreme Court decision ruling against his challenge to vaccine mandates.
That ruling meant NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard “can make public health orders sentencing unvaccinated people to their death”, he wrote.
The fundraiser has garnered $18,135 in donations.
On Facebook, G&B Lawyers posted the purported details of the grounds for Mr Buckley’s suspension.
They include that he made public statements encouraging Victorians to breach mask mandates, advising NSW residents on how to get around lockdown restrictions, and telling aged care workers not to comply with a vaccine mandate.
The document also referred to a social media post from G&B Lawyers criticising the NSW Supreme Court’s vaccine mandate ruling, which read: “So Justice Beech-Jones today said that no one in NSW has any rights. No one has a right to bodily integrity. He basically said it is ok to kill anyone you like. No one has any rights.”
The Law Society of NSW declined to comment on the suspension.
-with AAP
