The National Immunisation Conference was held in Adelaide in June 2018.  Linked below are three video panel discussions/presentations which should be of particular interest to the freedom of choice community.  Links to all other available video panel discussions/presentations are at the bottom of this page.

Anyone who has been following this issue for any length of time would not be surprised to discover that the McCafferys’ and Hughes’ predatory and dishonest campaigns were largely responsible for both the federal No Jab No Pay and state-based No Jab No Play laws.

Of course, they didn’t do it alone – government doctors and scientists, vaccine manufacturers, lobby groups and a complicit media all played a role in the hijacking of Australian vaccine policy.

Their campaigns were predicated on multiple falsehoods, which our time-poor elected leaders fell for, hook, line and sinker.   These include:

• Whooping Cough is easily preventable by vaccination.
• Whooping Cough deaths have increased.
• No baby should die from Whooping Cough in this day and age, in a wealthy country like Australia, and that if only everyone was vaccinated, there would be no deaths from Whooping Cough.
• Vaccination rates are plummeting.
• Conscientious objection rates had sky-rocketed.
• Whooping Cough was virtually eradicated but “has made a terrible comeback” due to the aforementioned plummeting vaccination rates.
• The high Whooping Cough notification rate in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales is due to the low vaccination rate in that region (rather than diagnostic suspicion bias).
• Criticism of them and their campaigns constitutes harassment, even when such criticism is published on our own fora.

As we know, all of the above are false, and the McCafferys and Hughes know this, yet continue to promote these lies to this day.

The McCafferys in particular are seasoned and skilled manipulators, having traded in the “we’re just grieving parents” canard for nearly a decade now, even though their agenda was clear from the beginning: to take our rights away.

Chief Medical Officer’s comments are revealing

Professor Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), has now admitted to the extent of the McCafferys’ and Hughes’ influence.

During a Q & A at the National Immunisation Conference held in June, he stated:

Many ministers and politicians have been exposed to children or parents who’ve lost a kid… the Pertussis deaths…  those families have influenced politicians.

Murphy also made some inappropriate comments about the mental health of some members of the public who write to him.

Watch the full plenary panel discussion, which also features former NCIRS Director, Professor Peter McIntyre who appears to have developed a rather significant tic disorder.

Victorian doctor vehemently opposed to No Jab laws

The conference included another panel discussion of interest, featuring Dr. Jenny Royle, a very pro-vaccination Melbourne paediatrician who savagely criticised laws which deny children and families services and payments based on a child’s vaccination status.

This panel discussion also included some more familiar players.

Dr. Stephen Lambert – Stop the Australian Vaccination Network (SAVN) and sometimes Acting Chief Health Officer of Queensland.

Tracey McDermott – Stop the Australian Vaccination Network (SAVN), Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters (NRVS) and Light for Riley/Immunisation Foundation of Australia.  Yes, Light for Riley has gone the full SAVN.  Stay tuned for an article about Immunisation Foundation of Australia directors and their history and connection to vaccine manufacturers.

Dr. Frank Beard – National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)

A/Professor Julie Leask – Sydney University

In a major failure of logic, Lambert argues for a health economics approach to the evaluation of No Jab No Pay.

This policy saves money to achieve an outcome we’re interested in.

Except, the only way that No Jab No Pay can possibly save money is if parents fail to be coerced into vaccinating their children (the outcome the government is interested in).  Towards the end of the discussion he also receives a stinging rebuke from Dr. Royle for his extreme views.

Lastly, Lambert’s proposed solution to the iniquity of No Jab No Pay is – not to restore conscientious objection – but to impose an additional Medicare levy surcharge on the wealthy.

Watch the full No Jab No Pay/Play panel discussion

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Readers may also be interested in some of the other panel discussions and conference presentations.  For example, Associate Professor Julie Leask’s presentation ‘Is the juice worth the squeeze?’.

Watch No Jab No Pay/Play – Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Watch all other available National Immunisation Conference 2018 presentations.

Presentation slides

Slides for some of the conference presentations can be downloaded from the Public Health Association Australia website.

Thanks to M for locating these.