Tuesday, 20 June 2023

 Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (19:23): (229) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to abolish remaining vaccine mandates in Victoria for all and to better support those with vaccine injuries. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria and across Australia, mandatory vaccine policies intruded into most aspects of our personal, family, social and economic lives, meaning exclusion as well as job losses.

To start with, I support vaccinations. I believe that they have generally done a great job globally in saving lives while reducing the risk of serious illness. However, as I said in my inaugural speech, people should not be forced, coerced or pressured on vaccinations through mandates, job losses, financial losses or exclusion. Vaccination uptake should only be based on education, persuasion and positive incentives. Mandates show a complete disregard for individuals’ moral integrity and bodily autonomy and for the ability of individuals to make good decisions.

On 24 June 2022 the Victorian government largely finished the imposed vaccine mandates, yet employers can still insist that you get vaccinated, and nurses, firefighters, aged care workers, allied health professionals and others who refuse to take the vaccine are still shut out of working. This means less firefighters protecting Victorians, less aged care workers taking care of the elderly and less nurses and health professionals looking after the sick and vulnerable.

I have recently been approached by firefighters that currently cannot be employed due to personal medical conditions preventing them from being vaccinated or being further vaccinated for COVID-19 along with firefighters who have made the personal choice not to be vaccinated. Bizarrely, these same people can volunteer as firefighters at the same fire station, doing the same work, but cannot be paid.

I have also been contacted by many locals concerned about vaccine injury, including a lady I met with last week who tragically lost her husband, who suffered from an adverse reaction after taking the AstraZeneca shot. Further, today, just after 2:30, I was contacted by a Mornington constituent suffering from acute pericarditis linked to the Pfizer vaccine. I also have a family member who is no longer able to work due to a COVID-19 vaccine injury, but fortunately they have had good insurance coverage. Let me state it clearly: vaccine injuries are real across all vaccines, not just COVID-19, and those who talk about COVID-19 vaccine safety concerns or injuries should not all be silenced and branded as conspiracy theorists or anti-vaxxers. While vaccines are generally safe for most, vaccine injury is real and affecting many Australians. Mandates were wrong during the pandemic, and they are wrong now. I call again on the state minister to end mandates, including for firefighters, nurses, doctors and others in our system, and also to support those who have been injured taking any vaccine, including COVID-19.