Clive Palmer lost his challenge to Western Australia’s border ban because the policy was not discriminatory and was justified by the Covid-19 pandemic, the high court has revealed.
After giving orders against Palmer in November, the court published its unanimous but separate judgments on Wednesday explaining why the ban did not infringe the constitutional guarantee that interstate movement “shall be absolutely free”.
The reasons could make future challenges against border closures on public health grounds more difficult and suggest Palmer could have strengthened his case by challenging WA’s emergency laws and not just the directions issued under them.
