The MP in question is George Christensen. He represents the electoral division of Dawson in the northeastern state of Queensland. He is a member of the ruling government of Australia as a part of the Liberal-National coalition. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, he made a two-minute speech in the Australian parliament calling for an end to mask mandates, lockdowns and other COVID-19-related restrictions.
"Will the madness end? How many more freedoms will we lose due to fear of a virus, which has a survivability rate of 997 out of 1,000," he said during his speech.
He also talked about his opposition to required masking and lockdowns, calling for both policies to be abandoned in favor of policies actually supported by scientific evidence. He said:
"It's time we stopped spreading fear and acknowledged some facts. Masks do not work. Fact. It has been proven that masks make no significant difference in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Lockdowns don't work. Fact. Lockdowns don't destroy the virus but they do destroy people's livelihoods and people's lives. Studies have shown they can even increase mortality rates."
Christensen then went on to slam the use of vaccine passports, calling their domestic use "a form of discrimination." (Related: Australia considering COVID-19 vaccine passports and the segregation of society based on vaccination status.)
He said nobody should be restricted from certain parts of public life just because they have concerns about the experimental and side effect-riddled COVID-19 vaccines. He believes this is especially the case for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 because they can still catch and spread the virus.
In a statement with NCA NewsWire, Christensen said he had made his views clear to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal-National coalition. He said he has already informed Morrison that he does not believe there should be any federal or state policies pushing for vaccine passports. He believes such proof of vaccination certificates constitutes an invasion of people's right to medical privacy.
"We should not be pushing for discrimination against citizens who choose not to undergo a particular medical treatment, and that means we shouldn't be allowing the refusal of employment or service because someone hasn't been vaccinated."
Christensen stated this is a matter of principle for him, and he would vote against legislation that supported lockdowns, mask mandates or vaccine passports. He ended his speech in parliament by criticizing his fellow MPs, the Australian mainstream media and senior public health officials for fearmongering about the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID-19 is going to be with us forever, just like the flu and just like the flu, we will have to live with it, not in constant fear of it," he said. "Some people will catch it, some people will tragically die from it. That's inevitable and we have to accept it."
"Open society back up, restore our freedoms, end this madness."
Parliament condemns Christensen, calls for his expulsion from government
The view that Christensen should not be silenced for speaking his mind is not shared by every member of the parliament. Leader of the Opposition and leader of the left-wing Labor Party Anthony Albanese successfully moved a motion to condemn Christensen's comments. Unfortunately, this condemnation was supported by many members of the Liberal-National coalition. Albanese described Christensen's views as "dangerous" and "insulting" to frontline workers such as doctors, nurses, truck drivers and supermarket workers.
"They sacrificed, they stayed at home. They have kept safe from each other," said Albanese. "For a member of the House of Representatives, as the member for Dawson did, to attend a rally in Mackay, supporting these violent demonstrations that took place is an insult to those heroes of the pandemic."
Albanese is referring to a rally held in the city of Mackay in northern Queensland that called for lockdowns, mask mandates and the use of vaccine passports to end. Christensen joined that rally, and he also encouraged others to join him in protesting against COVID-19 restrictions.
The condemnation of Christensen's speech passed with the unfortunate support of members of the Liberal-National coalition.
Christensen has already announced that he is retiring in the next election. But Albanese believes this is not enough, and he wants the coalition government to expel him from the party. Morrison is unlikely to expel Christensen from the coalition. He said he does not share the MP's views regarding the pandemic, but he supported his right to free speech.
"In this country people have a right to free speech," said Morrison. "That is not something that the government is seeking to clamp down on."
Learn more about the COVID-19 restrictions in Australia and the people like Christensen who are opposing them by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.
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