MEMBER for Northern Victoria Tim Quilty faces being banned from State Parliament after voting against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for MPs.
“We oppose them as a condition on work, we oppose them as a condition on participation in public life and we oppose them as a condition on entering this chamber,” he told the Upper House in the motion debate.
“Throughout this pandemic, this government has used increasingly draconian and tyrannical tactics.
“Persuasion and trust in the population was never part of this government’s response.
“Having the powers from the state of emergency declaration to use compulsion and coercion on the people that became the first and the only tool that they used, yet with less success than any government in Australia.
“The hand sanitising and social distancing that we started with became compulsory masks outside, bans on gatherings and stay-at-home orders.
“Fines grew and police violence escalated.
“Police broke into people’s homes, issued threats to journalists, suppressed demonstrations and fired pepper spray into crowds.
“Large areas of the state have been COVID free since day one and have still suffered through more than a year of restrictions and lockdowns.”
Mr Quilty said vaccine mandates were an “outrageous breaches of the rights of individual Victorians to consent to medical treatment”.
“Forcing employers across the state to fire workers who refuse to bend, and this when we are clearly going to pass the vaccine targets without the mandates anyway.
“The government demonstrates that in Victoria human rights are nothing more than a joke.
“You might as well issue the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities as toilet paper in this place. It is what the government has been using it for and clearly what they believe it is worth.
“If this motion succeeds, you will notice that almost everyone in this chamber is vaccinated. They are, in their own eyes, protected from COVID. If they are protected, then why try to expel unvaccinated people from the chamber?”
Mr Quilty, who is double vaccinated, said the stand he took was “for choice”.
“The stand we take today is for the Victorians who are being coerced to take vaccines despite strong objections and those who despite the pressure, despite being forced to risk their jobs, their homes and their families’ futures, are refusing to comply,” he said.
The motion passed on Thursday evening, making Victoria the first Australian state or territory to ban unvaccinated MPs entering parliament.
Four members voted against the bill, including Liberal Democrat MPs David Limbrick and Mr Quilty, who indicated they would refuse to hand over proof despite being fully vaccinated, to protest against the rule.
Petition sent to Premier
AN anti-mandatory vaccine petition launched by Mallee MP Anne Webster has been presented to Premier Daniel Andrews.
Dr Webster said the petition received more than 11,200 signatures, 6000 people explained their reason for doing so.
The Nationals MP wrote the Premier, asking whether the public health order to mandate vaccinations for authorised workers was “necessary and proportionate to counter the risk of COVID”.
“People who signed the petition agreed that the mandate was disproportionate and heavy-handed,” Dr Webster said.
One signatory wrote: “I am vaccinated, but I think people need the choice. These times are hard enough now without the thought of being bullied into something they don’t want or not sure of.”
Another said: “The mandates punish and drive people away. Transparency and discussion would do a better job. Mandates turn the public on each other and I fear we are heading down a path of discrimination that will be incredibly harmful to us as a society. Dropping the mandates on so many industries with such a short time frame has created so much anxiety and stress. We have all suffered so much for almost two years. These mandates are breeding contempt not fostering hope.”
Dr Webster said she was “firmly” pro-vaccination and encouraged the community to be vaccinated from the moment the vaccines were available.
“However, coercing people into choosing the vaccine or their job has inflamed tensions in workplaces and has reduced workers on the ground,” she said.
“Many young men in trades for example have opted to leave their workplace.
“This is a very poor outcome for already stretched workforces in regional communities.
“In addition, many volunteers including CFA have now withdrawn from serving the community where they live. I am sure you would agree that this is a bad outcome.
“In my view, and in the view of the signatories of this position, this mandate is an overreach into the civil liberties of Victorians.”
