And the worst thing is proof of vaccination has been handed over to the private sector to police/enforce: Qantas, for example, sporting venues, some shops. None of these businesses can be forced to demand vax proof to enter - and many don't - but those who do are doing it with gusto.

Note well that these same businesses have been whining about loss of business due to Covid, and begging for taxpayer money. I'm happy to say that I don’t need these people and what they have to offer, even though I'm vaccinated and about to get a booster. The private Gestapo enthusiasts can shove whatever they have to sell right up their jackets.

Gestapo or Stasi. Left or right. There's no difference these days

James Alen: <move towards soft despotism and soft segregations – whether you support segregating certain people, thereby making it impossible for them to work or go to entertainment venues or do much other than eat>

The people who refuse to get Vaccinated are responsible for their own Segregation & Discrimination, if the got Vaxxed then they wouldn’t be.

Have you noticed that the incidence of heavy Colds (aka the Flu), Influenza, & other airborne contagions are remarkably down in the past two years? The Wearing of Masks has done that.

The rapid search for a Vaccine to stop Covid-19 has brought with it some problems, The Effectiveness, Longevity, Allergic reactions to name a few.

Unfortunately, you will get these with any medication. I had a very bad reaction to Photographic Dye & Aureomycin. Both problems have now been fixed. My brother & a lot of other people are allergic to any for of Penicillin. Some people can’t even have Aspirin.

Look at the timeline for the Covid -19 Vaccine. 1st. 6 months, nothing, 2nd. 6 months, research into a Vaccine, 3rd. 6 months, possible Vaccine. Testing. Some did & some didn’t work. 4th. 6 months, Various working Vaccines tested in the field. 5th. 6 months, Manufacture & partial distribution. 6th. 6 months, Distribution to “7 billion people”. 8th. 6 months, finding problems & reactions with some vaccines & some people. 9th. 6 months, Improving the effectiveness Longevity. This is where we are at now.

Cont.

Cont
James Alen: <. Meanwhile, of the 50 US states, right now the one with the lowest Covid rates is Florida – a state with no mask rules for the past 10 months or so, no vaccine mandate, no lockdowns and indeed a mandate against vaccine mandates.>

America has one of the highest infection & death rates in the World. To single out one State is manipulative. And, all because of the “You cain’t tell me what to do. I’m ‘Merican” Attitude. The same attitude is seen in Australia with the Protestors.

James Alen: <heavy-handed vaccine mandates (that would cost people jobs and severely affect dissenting students)>

Yet they saved lives. E.g.; Queensland. Even though I dislike Palletshit Socialist Politics, she kept the Contagion out of Queensland, until she opened the Borders to appease the Demonstrators. What has happened? 9000 plus in two weeks & people dying. Never had that before. Ay.

James Alen: <Moreover, once we have started down a path on which tiny gains in public health do justify the suspension of our liberties, that opens the door to many more restrictions in return for other supposed benefits.>
<I'll say it again. Vaccine mandates are a terrible, illiberal, slippery-slope idea. Speak now or forever expect despotic, heavy-handed government>

Ha ha, the worship of fear as a weapon. Unfortunately, it does work on some. The Socialists used the same tactics in Germany just before WW2.

No-one likes Mandates, not even me. The reason there has to be Mandates is the Socialist Propaganda Machine is in overdrive spreading fear in the Community. Demonstrating against reasonableness & refusing to follow the rules to keep safe. There eventual aim is an overthrow of Australia’s Federalist Democracy & turn us into another Venezuela or China.

Once enough people start to see for themselves that Covid vaccines won't ever offer foolproof protection against the virus and that the endless cycle of booster after booster after booster is only increasing the risks to their longterm health, what then?

The unvaccinated are currently a small minority, but that will change over time as more and more people reevaluate the risks and benefits of vaccines and decide that being forced to endlessly suck off an ever-expanding Big Pharma teat is just not worth it. Will the definition of what it is to be 'vaccinated' keep shifting over time? Will it require three shots, four shots, or one every six months, or one every three months? What will it require to be classed as 'fully-vaccinated'? For how much longer will two shots be considered sufficient?

I agree with the author, vaccine mandates are a discriminatory, divisive and ultimately counter-productive infringement on people's liberties. I'm no libertarian, but people should indeed have the right to manage their own health as they see fit. Governments have no right to dictate that the pharmaceutical option is the one for everyone.

Bronwyn: people should indeed have the right to manage their own health as they see fit. Governments have no right to dictate that the pharmaceutical option is the one for everyone.

& if they die, they die. I don't care. Good riddance, less demonstrators spreading the joy. Ay.

people should indeed have the right to manage their own health as they see fit
Jayb,
Yes, that includes my right to ask the unvaccinated to give me a wide berth.

The reality is that we will all, sooner or later, experience some interaction with the virus at some stage of our lives.
Some will have a natural immunity whereas the masses will not.
No one is to blame and everyone will have to take their chances.
Whether you like it or not, Nature is fighting back and it's not interested in whether one is deserving or not.
Make each day count for something 'cos tomorrow is not guaranteed.
good luck1

>This is the bottom line for anyone who cares for freedom, civil liberties and living in a country with equality before the law.

It's difficult to grasp how a law professor would think this has ever been the case ? There is NO equality before the law, an example, there's a reason cocaine users don't see jail and Meth users do, people with money who use cocaine paying Barristers to represent them get better treatment before the law. Freedom ? We have only the freedom the people with guns allow us, I am not free to walk nude through Queen St Mall for example and I won't hurt anyone doing that, literally non one is hurt and yet I will be jailed if I did.

I am not an electrician, can I go and wire up a new school in order to earn a living, or would you expect I would have the skill set necessary to ensure the children and workforce are safe ? Would you expect me to be fired if I don't in fact have that skill set ?

We've long had compulsory vaccination for a plethora of things, like Flu Vaccinations while working in Aged Care.

There's an expectation in society you will not deliberately harm others, the VAST majority of experts in immunology will tell you getting a vaccination helps lower the harm caused to others, lowers the stress on society by the reduction of resources needed to look after you. Some good reads here

https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/

I find it thoroughly disheartening the "freedom warriors" are coming to the party now and this is the hill they die on. Where were they when compulsory seat belt laws where introduced, or gun laws, or compulsory bike helmet laws and on and on ?

I always questioned the government and the mainstream media and certainly more so the past 18 months when a pandemic was declared by WHO when there were less than 100 cases globally. Readers might inform themselves with relevant studies that might conflict with their views e.g. lockdowns were ineffective, school closures were ineffective, mask mandates were ineffective, and masks themselves were and are ineffective and harmful. https://www.drpaulalexander.com/blogs/news/more-than-400-studies-on-the-failure-of-compulsory-covid-interventions

This global mass inoculation is not about health and safety but getting everyone a digital ID via the vax pass. Legally, what can the vaccine free do if and when Palaschuk follows through her chilling threat and rounds up the unvaccinated who have no symptoms, are healthy, etc. and forces them into Wellcamp quarantine station.

Think the writer needs to learn more about science and raises the old chestnut, why are individual non or fringe scientists given media access by NewsCorp, Spectator and OLO to promote sciency sounding PR agitprop?

The Covid science denial and delay came straight from the Koch Network climate science denial and delay text book, according to DeSmog analysis; by coincidence Tony Abbott is no. 1 on their database :)

https://www.desmog.com/climate-disinformation-database/

However, no matter what the writer's expertise is, too many people and media have focused upon confected cosplay 'Freedom Protests' for Kochian 'freedom & liberty' but miss the main point.

There have been generations of investment in architecture and tactics to deflect from not just climate science and fossil fuels, but also support demands for cuts in taxes, public services and govt.; but the Anglosphere of UK and Australia prefer to look up to US robber barons?

Why the Covid science, vaccination and related constraint denial and delay?

It's to reinforce deep seated radical right libertarian tropes of 'freedom & liberty' for fossil fuels to avoid climate/emissions constraints, reinforce beliefs, follow authority, avoid education, research, science and expertise; basically ditch the enlightenment and any progress made to preserve the status of the 0.1%.

Francesca

Not sure as to the validity of all your claims, but always good to come across others who are willing to risk the condemnatory pile-on and publicly question the wisdom of vaccine mandates.

I think I may have crossed paths with you before at The New Daily ... before it ran scared and stopped publishing online comments.

Besides the article being Spectator worthy right-wing rubbish in my opinion, the author gets his facts wrong.

He claims:

“Meanwhile, of the 50 US states, right now the one with the lowest Covid rates is Florida – a state with no mask rules for the past 10 months or so, no vaccine mandate, no lockdowns and indeed a mandate against vaccine mandates.”

Florida is the 7th highest for daily cases per 100,000 in the US right now.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html (Accessed 6/10/2022)

However nearly all the 6 above it: New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, U.S Virgin Islands Washington DC and Puerto Rico, have markedly higher population densities.

Florida is in the top 10 states for death rate per 100,000 people despite being the closest mainland state to the equator.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/

Of course Covid reporting was severely compromised by withdrawal of public data in Florida.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/10/17/for-105-days-covids-death-toll-in-florida-counties-went-missing/

To be so blatantly offering up seemingly ill-researched mis-truths to support his spurious arguments needs to be called out and the opportunity to correct the record afforded to him.

Steelie: To be so blatantly offering up seemingly ill-researched mis-truths to support his spurious arguments needs to be called out and the opportunity to correct the record afforded to him.

Wow! Steelie. Finally we agree on something. Well done.

Bronwyn, I am logged in as Francesca as my name Frances was already taken. I've always been a critical thinker, been trained in research since the 80's.