Entertainer and raconteur Gary McCormick says his defence was masterly, but it didn't quite work.
He's been ordered to pay his $40 parking infringement, and the $130 court costs for his defended hearing today.
He told Christchurch District Court that he was simply a citizen who had tried to do his best, Christchurch Court News website reported.
He had parked in Montreal Street, central Christchurch, on January 23, and had put his coins in the pay-and-display machine twice, but it had spat them out both times.
He had no credit card with him to use to make the payment, did not recall if he had a cellphone to make a payment by text, and was in a hurry to get to a meeting.
He had gone about his business and returned to the car to find the $40 parking ticket.
"One can never really beat bureaucracy, in the end," he said.
"I hope this court looks at it as an individual citizen who has struggled sufficiently with the resources at hand to do the best they can."
But justices of the peace John O'Hara and Percy Acton-Adams ruled that he had not struggled sufficiently. They suggested that he had alternatives that he had not tried, including going to another machine nearby.
"There was more than one reasonable method of payment provided by the Christchurch City Council," said Mr O'Hara.
"On this occasion, Mr McCormick did not make all reasonable attempts to pay and display."
Mr McCormick said afterwards he was considering taking the matter to the Privy Council, and may seek to employ Judith Ablett-Kerr QC as defence counsel.
