Mask-exempt Melinda and David Graham spared fines at Wollongong council protest

David and Melinda Graham, of Corrimal, were among about 20 people outside Wollongong City Council chambers Tuesday morning, as simultanous protests took place at multiple city halls across the state.

Mr Graham's video of the Wollongong event shows some wore masks, some didn't.

Police have confirmed two people were arrested and two were issued $1000 fines.

Another person was arrested outside Shellharbour council and three people there were issued PINs.

The Mercury can confirm neither of the barefaced Grahams were fined by police because they produced medical documents making them exempt from having to wear a face mask.

Mr Graham's video shows police examing the couple's paperwork, taking their details and moving them on. Mrs Graham is heard accusing the officers of harassment.

Mr Graham tells an officer, "I've just had an operation on my nose, I can't put a mask on at the moment".

When the officer asks why he would jeopardise his health by going out without a mask, he replies, "I don't believe I'm jeopardising anything, sir. God gave me an immune system, but I don't believe I'm jeopardising anything."

The encounter comes a week after the couple filmed themselves visiting Wollongong's Blue Mile and again alleging that police had harrassed them.

That video shows an unmasked Mrs Graham telling the camera, "we're going to poke the bear" by going inside Levendi cafe to get an ice cream.

Mr Graham has previously filmed himself encouraging people to attend lockdown rallies. Mrs Graham publicly claimed to be an organiser of the July 24 rally that drew about 200 people out to Wollongong's Blue Mile.

In Tuesday's video, the pair get into a car, with Mr Graham announcing they are heading to Sydney for "a job".

Before departing, he proposes he wear a facial covering to protect against his newfound notoriety with police:

"They know us, our heads are marked. Maybe I should get a big bandana and wear it around my face, like one of those hankies like one of the Mexican cowboys wore."

In the video and in a later text message to the Mercury, the pair claim to be journalists for an American news site.

But Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said he considered them irresponsible for taking to the streets without face masks.

"Their use of social media causes concern in the community and they have utilised what I understand to be false arguments," he said. "At the present time, the majority of the residents of Wollongong have seen this for what it is, and that is that it's a fringe group that have arguments of very limited scope."

"If they're exempt as a legal obligation that's fine, but I also think there are moral and ethical obligations for every one of us that participates, who lives in our community, to make sure that we do everything to stop the spreading of the COVID virus."

Cr Bradbery said unauthorised protest activity was distracting for the city's police. "We're putting the police in a difficult situation where even they become vulnerable to contracting the virus and when we will need them for emergencies and other situations of crime in our community, we don't want them to not be available to protect us."

Mr Graham initially publicly posted the video, with he and his wife's mobile phone numbers and address clearly audible, and called on viewers to "share [it] around everywhere people".

But he has since removed it, telling the Mercury it had resulted in unwelcome phone calls.

He told the Mercury he and Mrs Graham attended the event on Tuesday in their capacity as journalists.

He declined to answer further questions but said in a text: "I had nuthin (sic) to do with the asembly (sic) of people at Wollongong".

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