Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A young man about to complete his four-year apprenticeship was unable to sit his final exam unless double vaccinated—no exceptions. The mum of a daughter who'd had a horrific reaction to a vaccine was told by the neurologist, 'Your daughter must never have another vaccination.' The severe allergic reaction had caused the girl's body to convulse so badly that it broke her bones. Recently, that same neurologist refused to provide a COVID vaccination exemption for the daughter. The mother simply wants to save her child.

This is but one of the many conversations I've had, and they all end pleading with me to help. What happened to, 'First do no harm'? Welcome to Australia. If you want to talk about the rights of the majority over the individual for the greater good, go right ahead. I'll continue to represent my people. Some time ago, I had an intractable situation. I'd exhausted every avenue on behalf of my constituents. So I grabbed the file, bundled it up and wrote across the front, 'To the Minister: when all else fails, there is always hope,' and I sent it by hand to the minister. In that instance, right and justice took precedence over populism, policy, prejudice, politics and fear. Vaccine mandates without reasonable exemptions are not only unconscionable; they are criminal.

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