Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] As parliamentarians the people of Australia, the voters, put their trust in us. We hold positions of huge responsibility. We are community leaders with a voice, a platform and an audience, and as leaders what we say in public carries a great deal of weight. In the COVID pandemic compliance with public health restrictions is vital to making those restrictions work. Acceptance of the safety and efficacy of vaccines is vital to making the vaccine rollout work, but sadly there are some in this place, and in the house of reps, who have chosen to undermine the public health effort instead, to fearmonger and spread misinformation.

Parliamentarians have a hugely important role to play in reinforcing public health messages. The most powerful antidote we could have against the conspiracy theories and disinformation being peddled by some members and senators is for the holder of Australia's highest office to reject their crazy ideas and suggestions. Mr Kelly promotes unproven COVID treatment like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. It's not good enough for Mr Morrison simply to say, 'He's not my doctor,' or that Mr Kelly's pronouncements don't align with his views. Senator Rennick goes around spreading vaccine conspiracy theories. It's not good enough for the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mr Hunt, simply to make a pathetic plea for him to stick with the facts. The dangerous ideas being promoted by these parliamentarians should be met with swift and clear condemnation by the Prime Minister, not some sort of timid disagreement. For some Australians, the spread of dangerous ideas which undermine our public health measures could literally be a matter of life and death. The spreading of these ideas must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, and the Prime Minister must send a clear message to Liberal members and senators engaging in this dangerous behaviour that it will not be tolerated in his party.

As if the disinformation wasn't dangerous enough, we saw some senators in this place vote this morning for a bill which would have undermined public health measures. The message that Senator Hanson, Senator Roberts and five coalition senators are sending to Australians is that they reject the tools that are needed to keep the public safe. They're telling vulnerable Australians, such as aged-care residents and hospital patients, that it's okay for them to bear the risk of being exposed to unvaccinated workers. While health experts and health professionals are working hard to lift vaccination rates so Australians can get back to enjoying their freedoms, we've got government senators undermining that effort without any consequence. If Mr Morrison and Mr Joyce won't discipline their rogue senators, they should at the very least publicly rebuke them, but it's of little surprise that Mr Morrison appears to lack the courage to confront his backbenchers when he himself is not fully committed to the public health measures necessary to get us safely through the pandemic.

Regardless of whether you agreed with them or not, every Australian Prime Minister up until now has had clear convictions and a clear vision for the nation. I've never seen a national leader so lacking in conviction or vision as Mr Morrison is, and the COVID pandemic has shown us all his true colours. This is a prime minister who has talked up the measures that have kept Australia safe from COVID but keeps giving a nod and a wink to the radical fringe that rails against these measures. He made a statement condemning expressions of violence by protesters, then said he sympathised with their frustrations. That's doublespeak. It's rubbish. He needs to be strong. He took credit for the actions of states and territories in stopping the spread of COVID, but he fought them every step of the way and then pressured them, especially the Labor states, to lift restrictions. His government even joined a High Court challenge by mining magnate Clive Palmer against Western Australia's border restrictions, before public pressure forced them to withdraw.

The Prime Minister talks up the importance of getting vaccinated but refuses to reprimand those in his own party who undermine vaccination messages. This is a prime minister who is quite happy to appeal to mainstream Australia, all the while quietly courting the preferences of One Nation and— (Time expired)