Editorial: Vaccine ruling means it’s time to get back to work

The state government should accept this court decision for what it is, and take the opportunity to re-energise our public sector, writes the editor.

Vaccinations save lives.

End of story. There is undeniable proof around the world that vaccinations are solely responsible for the eradication of deadly viruses and disease.

There is also no denying that the millions of people, who did the right thing during the pandemic and got vaccinated, saved thousands of others.

They also saved our economy from catastrophic damage because we were able to get Covid-19 under control and lift restrictions reasonably quickly.

There were people who didn’t do the right thing and refused to get vaccinated.

But only those with serious medical conditions where it would not have been safe to have the vaccine should be excused.

Vaccinations have been, quite simply, the most successful medical procedure ever introduced into the world and Australians have been more willing than many other developed countries to accept them.

The smallpox vaccine was introduced into Australia from England in 1804 just 16 years after the arrival of the First Fleet, and was being produced in Australia from 1847.

In the first few years of the 20th Century vaccines were imported from the Pasteur Institute in France, the Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicine in London and the Behring Institute in Germany while Australians also swiftly learned of the effectiveness of typhoid vaccines used on our soldiers in the Boer War.

The incontestable reality is that vaccines are a key plank of modern medicine and they have proven their worth across the generations.

The creation of vaccines to combat Covid-19 was one of the reasons communities across the globe were able to fight off the disease and end the lockdowns and travel restrictions, allowing us to return to the freedoms we enjoy today.

The Supreme Court ruling this week that public servants were unlawfully directed to receive vaccines should in no way detract from the extraordinary benefits humanity has received from vaccination.

There is no doubt Crown law will be examining Tuesday’s judgment and attempting to determine what the appropriate response should be from the State Government.

Premier Steven Miles has stood by the Government’s decision to mandate vaccines, insisting the actions taken were the right ones, “and they worked.’’

This ruling does not outlaw mandated vaccines, but has found there were problems with the government’s process in implementing them.

The problem centres on a breach of Section 58 of the Human Rights Act which requires that, when making a decision, you must properly consider human rights relevant to that decision.

It is, in a sense, a bed that Labor has made for itself given it was the Labor Government which gave the state the Human Rights Act 2019 designed to protect and promote human rights.

This Supreme Court decision is the first major court ruling to draw its authority from that piece of legislation, and demonstrates how powerful the Human Rights Act could be in deciding future legal challenges.

But, for the moment, the law is the law and, contained within this judgment, there may reside an extraordinary opportunity for the ruling Labor administration to solve a rather large problem.

There is a widespread consensus that this state is in the midst of a juvenile crime epidemic while our health system is also struggling because of staff shortages and our classrooms are losing teachers.

The Nurses Professional Association of Queensland says 3000 health care workers are currently absent from work due to the vaccine direction of September 2021. There were an estimated 4000 school staff sacked or stood down for Covid-19-related issues during the Covid-19 years and numerous police officers were also taken away from their duties because of their refusal to be vaccinated.

Potentially thousands of public servants who were subject to disciplinary action because of their refusal to have the vaccine can now, legally, have that black mark against their name removed, and be deployed back to the front line.

Many of them are not only eager to get back to work, but have long experience in the job.

For now, at least, the State Government should accept this decision for what it is, and take the opportunity to re-energise our public sector with experienced workers who will ease the pressures in our hospitals, on our streets and in our schools.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here