Here are some examples of Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and health minister Greg Hunt clearly stating that Covid “vaccination” will remain voluntary. Still coercive measures persist in Australia.
While the Government strongly supports immunisation, it is not mandatory. Vaccination will remain voluntary and individuals will retain the fundamental choice to choose not to vaccinate.
Hunt, media release – 3 Dec 2020
GREG HUNT: And our expectation is that all Australians who seek it will be given access to a free vaccine on a voluntary basis during the course of 2021.
Hunt, interview – 24 Nov 2020
JOURNALIST: So can I clarify then your policy on vaccination? Should they be mandatory?
GREG HUNT: Ours has always been that vaccination, from a government perspective, is voluntary.
So the simple answer is we’ll stick by our March time frame, but our goal is always under promise, over deliver, and we expect that Australians will be fully vaccinated by the end of October, on the basis of it’s free, it’s universal, and it’s entirely voluntary.
Hunt, interview Melbourne – 28 Dec 2020
National Cabinet received a briefing from the Solicitor General on the use of vaccinations in the workplace. Australia’s policy remains that vaccines should be voluntary and free. Businesses have a legal obligation to keep their workplaces safe and to eliminate or minimise so far as ‘reasonably practicable’ the risk of exposure to COVID-19. In general, in the absence of a State or Territory public health order or a requirement in an employment contract or industrial instrument, an employer can only mandate that an employee be vaccinated through a lawful and reasonable direction. Decisions to require COVID-19 vaccinations for employees will be a matter for individual business, taking into account their particular circumstances and their obligations under safety, anti_discrimination and privacy laws. Businesses are encouraged to review guidance provided by the Fair Work Ombudsman and Safe Work Australia in considering what directions may be lawful and reasonable, and the approach to keeping workplaces safe through the use of vaccinations.
Morrison, National Cabinet statement – 6 Aug 2021
MITCHELL: Prime Minister, Victoria is introducing compulsory vaccination in the construction industry and it looks like coming in the health industry. And while it’s not there already, will you re-think compulsory vaccination?
Morrison, interview – 17 Sep 2021
PRIME MINISTER: We’ve got no plans to do that. But states can always do exactly what you said. They’re responsible for public health. I think, Neil, over the course of these 18 months, there’s been some sort of mistaken view that some powers have been given to the states. It is just simply not true. They’ve always had them. And I think the public may not have been as aware of them because we haven’t been confronted with a national and international pandemic at the scale we’re now living through. It’s enlivened what those powers are. The states have always had them and they they’ve always been responsible for them. And so each of the premiers must be accountable for how they use them.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] a very broad vaccine mandate with a long list of workers that will need to get vaccinated to go back to work. Are you disappointed that there hasn’t been uniformity achieved in the public health orders around the country? And are you worried that this constitutes a vaccine, compulsory vaccines by stealth? As you previously described it?
Morrison, press conference Canberra – 1 Oct 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Our policy, the Australian Government’s policy has been only to have mandates in exceptional circumstances. And that remains our policy. The only policy agreed through the national cabinet process for national-level implementation was the vaccination of aged care workers. And the principle that sits behind that is we were seeking to ensure high rates of vaccination with those who are engaging with vulnerable communities. And that’s an important policy principle. And I think there’s a lot of merit in where people are engaging with very vulnerable elements of the community, I know in the Northern Territory, for example. And we’ve used similar powers there where there’s engagement with quite sensitive indigenous communities. There have been some exceptional arrangements put in place in those circumstances. But my policy has always been that this is not a compulsory vaccination program. And I think the way that Australians have responded and the fact that we have gone up 20 points to 55 percent, we are now ahead of the United States on first dose vaccinations, that similarly across the G7 average and across Europe, we will be exceeding their positions within a matter of weeks. That demonstrates that the race we’re running is running hard to the end and it’s getting the results. You know, we had our challenges many months ago. I took responsibility for those challenges and those problems and I said I take responsibility for fixing it and I have. And that’s why you are seeing the vaccination rates that you are seeing now, which is what we had originally hoped to see by the time we have reached October of that order. And we will continue to see that rise. So I know Australians know what’s good for them. I know Australians want Australia to open up. And I think the best way to encourage those vaccinations is to stick to the national plan, stick to the deal. Australians will keep their side of the bargain. We need to keep ours.
We now have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. We’ve had one of the strongest economies to come through the pandemic, and we have one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID in the world. Australians have done an amazing job when it comes to leading us through this pandemic, but now it’s time for governments to step back. And for Australians to take their lives back. And for Australians to be able to move forward with the freedoms that should be theirs. That’s certainly what we’re doing as a federal government. That’s where we see it going. Our position on mandatory vaccines, for example, is in very specific circumstances. We’re not in favour of mandatory vaccines imposed by the government. Businesses can make their own choices under the law, but we’re not about telling them what to do or telling Australians what to do. Vaccines only are mandatory in cases where you’ve got health workers that are working with vulnerable people. That’s what our medical advice has always been. And as we get above 80 per cent in particular, which the scientific advice shows us and the research shows us, that means Australians can have their lives back. They should be able to go and get a cup of coffee in Brisbane when you’re over 80 per cent, regardless of whether you’ve had the vaccines or not.
Morrison, press conference Lidcombe – 18 Nov 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, being vaccinated is not mandatory for many Australians. And it’s certainly not the Commonwealth Government’s policy except for health workers and aged care workers and so on. I believe, I believe people should get vaccinated. I think it’s good for their health, I think it protects other Australians. I also respect other Australians about the choices that they make. Senator Antic has made his choice and he’s entitled to that choice. I was labouring under the understanding that he had been double vaccinated and I’d been advised that he had been double vaccinated, so I could only work on that assumption and that assumption proved to be incorrect.
Morrison, Snowy Hydro visit – 3 Dec 2021
JOURNALIST: Do you back calls by the Queensland Government to enforce a mandate on booster shots?
Hunt, press conference Gold Coast – 25 Mar 2022
GREG HUNT: Look, the Prime Minister was very clear yesterday and this has been our position throughout. We support voluntary vaccination. We’ve achieved 95 percent double dosing through voluntary vaccination other than in critical healthcare areas such as aged care and our hospitals.
JOURNALIST: Would you back the mandate on school-aged children?
GREG HUNT: No, no.
JOURNALIST: Seven days isolation for COVID close contacts. You’ve previously said that’s redundant. Is that still the case?
Morrison, Clayton, Victoria – 4 April 2022
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I’m looking forward to that being removed. I’m looking forward to that being removed.
JOURNALIST: Should it be removed right now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, ultimately, that’s a decision for the Premier. We don’t make those decisions at the Commonwealth level. It premiers who decide, you know, to shut cities down, or open them up. Not the Commonwealth Government. It’s premiers who decide whether to mandate vaccines or not mandate them. They’re not decisions the Commonwealth Government makes.
