Gympie regional council explains they are not against the vaccine mandate

Gympie council is setting the record straight after a social media post about Covid mandates was misunderstood, causing an online flurry. Here’s everything you need to know about the council position.

The Gympie Regional Council has clarified its position ahead of the December 17 vaccination mandate after a decision to keep facilities open to all was misinterpreted and created an online flurry.

It comes after a front-page article in a publication not affiliated with the Gympie Times or its parent company News Corp, began to circulate on social media and triggered a wave of support from anti-mandate advocates.

The clipping, which was of the front page lines only and not the article in full context, stated the council had made the decision to open its facilities to all residents regardless of their vaccination status.

This photo of a snippet from a local newspaper made the rounds on social media where people believed it meant the council was taking a stand against the looming mandates. Photo: Facebook

The post was met with massive online engagement, shared on anti-vaccination pages and attracted glowing comments mistakenly praising the council for their uprising.

“Will be eating, visiting galleries and doing a lot more in Gympie from now on,” Jandamarra Cadd wrote.

“Wow, a council with some intelligence, I will be shopping in Gympie from now on. Thanks for bringing normality back to life,” Stephen Agro wrote.

Comments on the viral facebook post praised Gympie regional council for their mistaken uprising.

The post caused others with similar views in the neighbouring Fraser Coast community to inundate local leaders with the clipping, asking them to do the same.

Gympie regional council CEO Shane Gray confirmed he had been in talks with Fraser Coast council CEO Ken Diehm on Monday morning (December 13), and the council’s stance and the article had been misinterpreted.

Instead, in line with the latest directive from Queensland Health, only the Gympie library would be exempt from the mandate.

Mr Gray clarified Gympie council would be following the State Government’s health guidelines.

He said information on the mandates was available on the Queensland Health website.

Mr Gray said Gympie regional council would not pick a side on the debate.

Fraser Coast councillor Paul Truscott, who was among those who received the misguided emails from locals, said the Fraser Coast council’s recent letter to the State Government, which flagged concerns about the impact mandates on the local businesses, may have confused some residents, who thought their council would be excluded from the mandates.

“The damage non-researched information can do in spreading misinformation before checking the facts can cause unnecessary unrest and even panic,” Mr Truscott said in relation to the social media posts.

“People just need to slow down a minute and check for facts first.”

In a statement shared on Tuesday morning, Gympie regional council addressed the situation.

“The article (on the publication not linked to the Gympie Times) was based on out-of-date information as the directives from Queensland Health are regularly updated,” it said.

The mandate will take effect across Queensland on Friday, December 17, and will place restrictions on any person over 15 who has not received two doses of the vaccine.

As of December 14, 76 per cent of the Gympie region has had both doses of the Covid vaccine.

Read the full list of restrictions here.