I talked to a friend who studied LAW. Not a bad analysis
I don’t believe he Greenberg understood the terms of the injunction. Someone must have got in his ear. To me it’s debatable that Parra should not be able to play for points before they have had a chance to reply to the “preliminary Report” … Just doesn’t make sense. You just don’t come out with a “prelim report” and then sanction penalties based on the same report/findings. It’s like when a policeman hands you a speeding fine and you take the matter to court. You don’t have to pay the fine until the magistrate has handed down their verdict … So if Parra dispute the finding and take the matter to court, then technically Parra should be allowed to play for points and the board continue until the court gives a ruling… But it depends what powers the NRL have … and this is where it gets messy. Parra may dispute the jurisdiction of the NRL to do what they have done. Keep in mind the Parra Leagues club runs independent of the NRL. So to try to force board members out could be deemed as intimidation or coercion … I just don’t like the way the system is set up. The NRL is not a regulatory body. So if you do not obey a procedure for example, then it’s not necessarily a crime. Yet they have the power to penalise by way of fining a club for breaches … this is not uncommon. But the way they practice is heavily governed and they simply do not have the power of a regulatory body like WorkCover for example. So they cannot just walk in and shut the site down .. or the club down in this instance. Even if they have signed an agreement that allows the NRL to impose penalties the way they have, these sorts of powers can be deemed as misuse of powers under Corporations Act etc. Or can be deemed as illegal practices and the agreement between the club and NRL virtually made null & void. Like a Boss has no right to sack a worker from his own business unless its done legally. Doesn’t matter that its his own business.
There are so many legal angles, it’s a spider web of complexities. The best thing the NRL could have done was sat down with Parra first and gave them the opportunity of reply before going to media. And Parra asked for this in the beginning.. This was just another dumb decision by Todd Greenberg,. Just silly … The NRL may think they are powerful but these kinds of bodies are not liked by the courts as they have too much power for the courts liking… Hence they can get scrutinised quite heavily and this is not what Todd Greenberg wants.
Anyways I will reserve judgement but the NRL may have picked a fight with the wrong kid. They better have their ducks lined up. Surely they cannot be that stupid??
