Warwick anti-vaccine mandate meeting draws crowd of hundreds to WIRAC

One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson was among the hundreds to vocally oppose the upcoming mandate for unvaccinated residents at an emotionally-charged meeting just over a week before the tough new rules kick in.

Hundreds of residents from Warwick and the wider Southern Downs were joined by community leaders, business owners, and prominent politicians at a meeting calling for action against the upcoming vaccine mandate.

The gathering held at WIRAC on Tuesday night was organised to rally support for declaring the Southern Downs a ‘pro-choice’ council area and openly oppose the restrictions for unvaccinated residents from December 17.

The meeting attracted political heavyweights such as One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson, who received a standing ovation from the crowd after slamming the State and Federal Governments and urging residents to think twice about getting the Covid jab.

She said she didn’t trust the World Health Organisation or the United Nations to provide accurate information on the virus or its treatment.

“First of all, I’m here as a Queenslander standing up for my rights and my basic human rights to have a choice,” she said.

“Our rights and freedoms are being stripped from us, we’re being coerced and bullied and being told what to do with our own bodies, and that’s not right.

“Children are not affected by (Covid). Protect your children and do not let them have this vaccine – it is untrialled, untested, and it’s not going to protect them for the long term.

“Protect their innocence, that is your job as parents.”

Senator Pauline Hanson has previously attended ‘freedom’ protests in location such as the Gold Coast. Photo Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Ms Hanson also spoke at length about her own attempts to oppose Covid measures in parliament and urged residents to not vote for ‘sheep’ at the upcoming federal election in May.

2020 Labor candidate for Southern Downs Joel Richters said he attended the meeting to gauge community sentiment, and despite other ‘interesting arguments’ could understand concern from business owners.

“Obviously I think the mandates are necessary, and I think close to 90 per cent of Queenslanders would say the same thing, but I do have some concerns as to how they’re being implemented,” he said.

“The question around how businesses are actually going to be able to police this – are they going to be expected to employ extra staff, what is that expectation – I think that’s unclear at the moment.

One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson speaking at the Warwick "pro-choice" rally against the vaccine mandate.

“I think there’s certainly a huge number of people here tonight who have happily been vaccinated, but have those concerns.”

Small business owners from across Warwick and the wider region also took the stage, sharing their personal fears about the mandate and its impact on their livelihood.

Belle Vue Cafe and Pickle and Must owner Rosie Favero said that while she was fully vaccinated, she had serious concerns about the time and extra staff needed to confirm each customer’s vaccination status.

“I am expected to check each person’s vaccination status before they enter my business, and I am expected to refuse service to a person if they do not have a green tick on their Check-in app or a hard copy of their certificate,” she said.

“This is not a scenario that I personally wanted to be doing or be placing my staff in this predicament, because I am expecting a fair amount of backlash and hard-to-answer questions.”

Lisa Hansford of The Scoop Health Foods Warwick and Hair Studio owner Melissa Cost were among the other business people to share their reasons for opposing the mandate.

The Scoop Health Foods Warwick owner Lisa Hansford said she feared the mandate would cost her at least 50 per cent of customers and her business.

After delivering the opening Welcome to Country, Githabul woman Melissa Chalmers spoke through tears as she told the crowd she would be put on indefinite unpaid leave from her job as a disability support worker due to being unvaccinated.

“My people are aware of what it is like to be segregated and discriminated against. We do not want to repeat history,” she said.

Meeting MC Stephen Collins also referenced horrific historical events when slamming the mandate, echoing sentiments from other speakers who labelled the rules “medical apartheid”.

“There has never been a time since World War II, when it has been so important for the people to be heard by their elected representatives and take action,” he said.

Southern Downs Mayor Vic Pennisi was joined by Deputy Mayor Ross Bartley and councillors Stephen Tancred and Marco Gliori at the meeting.

Mr Pennisi said he would speak to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Wednesday and convey the sentiments of this meeting.