Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the words spoken by the member for Macnamara and I agree with him. Certainly, given the fact that he has put a challenge out there, I do distance myself from the remarks of people who are calling for social and civil disobedience. I felt the gallows that were erected and taken to the Melbourne protests were absolutely despicable. The people who do that sort of thing as part of protests, particularly on a health issue, should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Any person who is a community and political leader who wants to spread misinformation and fear amongst their communities should also think long and hard about the role that they are playing in their communities, because people listen, people look at their Facebook posts, people observe and follow. Older Australians in particular don't need to have this sort of misinformation before them, because it makes them worried, it makes them anxious, and it leads to a lower vaccination rate in those communities.

But we're talking about polio, which is so important. I acknowledge my good friend the member for Macarthur. I also acknowledge the member for Higgins, who brought this important motion to the floor of this chamber.

John Winterbottom, a mate of mine in Wagga Wagga, contracted polio in 1948. He was only three years old. He, along with three other people in a very small area of Wagga Wagga, which was not a very large town then, all contracted polio at around the same time. John spent 2½ years in the Wagga Wagga hospital. Thereafter, every six months, until he was 14 years old, he would go to the Far West home in Manly for treatment. Yet John, through his perseverance and resilience and through the great medical assistance he received, managed to survive, managed to live—and continues to do so—and managed to contribute to his community. But he had an awful limp.

I remember John telling me, with amusement, about how one day he had gone into a hardware store, dragging one of his legs behind him. The fellow in the hardware store had similarly been afflicted by polio. John had asked for some sort of hardware implement, and the fellow had gone to get it and limped away. It was almost like one of those bad British comedies—although it's certainly no laughing matter in the Federation Chamber. But John said that the fellow had turned around, limping, and he thought he was taking him off. He had turned back to get the screw or the nail or the hammer or whatever it was. John had limped forward towards him, and the fellow had turned around again and asked: 'Are you taking me off? Are you mocking me?' He said, 'No, I have polio.' They became firm friends after that, both sharing an affliction that, sadly, so many in Australia had contracted.

Thankfully, due to the great work of a number of philanthropic organisations, not least of which is Rotary, we are now polio free in Australia. As the member for Macnamara so eloquently put it, hopefully we will be coronavirus free with a similar determination to roll up our sleeves and get jabbed. It is not that hard.

Polio remains endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that is very unfortunate. I know that the African continent has so many countries which go without so much, but so much work has been done in Africa, thankfully, because of the philanthropic efforts of people such as Bill Gates and Rotary International. I have to say that in my home district, 9705, in and around the Riverina and Central West, Rotary clubs have dug deep for so many years to provide so many funds for this so important a cause. I commend all the efforts aimed at making sure that one day the world will be polio free, just like I hope that one day we will be coronavirus free. I commend every medical professional for taking the time in this space to do what they can to make a healthier society and a healthier world.

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