Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, Noosa MP attend anti-mandate rally
Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and independent MP Sandy Bolton have called for an urgent review of vaccine mandates after attending a recent Noosa Heads rally.
Noosa
Don't miss out on the headlines from Noosa. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and Noosa MP Sandy Bolton have united in protest against state government vaccine mandates.
Ms Bolton has called for an urgent review on vaccine mandates preventing hospitality and other workers from employment which she said had caused “segregation”.
She was among “hundreds” to attend an anti-mandate rally at Noosa Heads on Sunday where former premier and Liberal Democrat senate hopeful Mr Newman spoke.
He repeatedly said he “did not recognise” what the country had become.
“I don’t recognise the Australia I see in 2022 and I sure as heck don’t like it one bit,” he said.
A Queensland Health spokesman said the government continued to take a cautious approach to easing restrictions.
“Vaccination is our pathway out of the pandemic,” they said in a statement.
“Vaccination mandates will remain in place for as long as they are needed to keep Queenslanders safe.
“Once very high vaccination rates are achieved it’s expected that minimal restrictions will be required.”
Ms Bolton said she was “openly double vaccinated” but believed restricting unvaccinated people from working in industries that had never required vaccinations previously – such as aged care – created untenable situations.
“These mandates which have segregated our community have been so detrimentally harmful,” she said.
“Once borders opened we saw the speed at which this virus spread into Noosa – even with the double-vaccinated mandates, demonstrating that complacency and a false sense of security were contributors.
“As businesses have shared, they were better off prior to the opening, including during lockdowns as at least they had supports through that period.”
She said government mandates and decisions around the pandemic must be better explained.
“There are questions we have continually asked from the government through this pandemic including what basis are decisions made on and for the release of this information and data, as well for current mandates to be reassessed urgently,” Ms Bolton said.
“As a society, we have encouraged people to be informed and ask questions, as that is how we move forward together.
“Just because we’re in a pandemic doesn’t mean questions shouldn’t be asked.”
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland has also called for greater clarity from the Queensland Government around vaccination policies as the state nears the 90 per cent double dose mark.
As of Wednesday 89.6 per cent of Queenslanders had received one dose of the vaccine and 92 per cent were fully vaccinated.
“Queensland businesses deserve to know what the state’s impending 90 per cent double vaccination milestone means for them and the rules they need to comply with to do business,” the organisation said in a statement.
Data from CCIQ indicated one in five Queensland businesses had struggled to maintain normal operational hours since December.
‘Do you think Queenslanders are idiots?’ Karl slams Premier’s free lunches
Premier Steven Miles has faced off with an angry Karl Stefanovic over his $1.4bn “mandate” to provide free lunches for all primary school children, despite Labor previously shooting the idea down.
Insurance broker, hotel baron: Current and former business owners in hot water
From a former software company director to a seafood boss, these are business owners of the past and present who have fallen foul of the law.