Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So the member for Hughes has resigned from the Liberal Party. Apparently his views don't accord with Liberal Party policy, despite his spruiking his views for years without any effective sanction by the Prime Minister.

The views of the member for Hughes are so dangerous that just last week Facebook banned him from their platform. His posts spread dangerous misinformation such as championing the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID despite reputable global studies finding it ineffective as a treatment; advocating the use of ivermectin, another drug not recommended by the National COVID-19 evidence institute; questioning the effectiveness of face masks and saying that having children wear masks is akin to abuse; and promoting conspiracy theories about the Washington riots.

The Prime Minister allowed the member for Hughes to spread dangerous misinformation that could actually kill people. The Prime Minister's response to all this misinformation coming from the member for Hughes when he was in the Liberal Party was: 'He's not my doctor.' The Prime Minister was ineffectual in reigning in the member for Hughes while he was in his government. Now that the member for Hughes has jumped ship he'll be off leash, if I could mix metaphors. But the Prime Minister is still accountable. He's still the Prime Minister, and, when it comes to votes in this House, he'll still be able to have a say in whether he accepts the member for Hughes's vote. A fair dinkum leader would not accept the vote of the member for Hughes. Let's see if this Prime Minister is fair dinkum.