International anti-vaxxers banned from Australia
INTERNATIONAL anti-vaccination ringleaders have been banned from returning to Australia for a “substantial” period after a controversial film tour.
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INTERNATIONAL anti-vaccination ringleaders have been banned from returning to Australia for a “substantial” period after a controversial film tour.
US anti-jab radicals Polly Tommey and Suzanne Humphries staged several secret meetings in Melbourne and nationwide in which Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, was shown, and parents were encouraged to expose children to deadly diseases.
The Herald Sun understands re-entry will be refused to both over visa breaches.
Ms Tommey, the film’s co-producer, said she would not be allowed back until 2020.
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“Australia to me is literally the worst country I’ve visited. Not the people, the government,” she said in a video.
“I had my phone taken away as I left Australia. They confiscated my phone and took photographs of all my emails and texts. They also told me I am banned from Australia for three years.”
The Herald Sun understands both anti-vaxxers had not declared their intention to work, resulting in visa cancellations and a “substantial” exclusion period.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection would not comment.
But confirming it was aware of both cases, a spokesman said: “Individuals travelling to Australia need to be aware of visa conditions and ensure they meet all requirements to legally stay in Australia.”
It is not known whether other international anti-vaxxers face similar travel bans.
Vaccination campaigners welcomed bans on people they said were a “public health risk”.
Ms Tommey and Ms Humphries participated in Q&A sessions after two film screenings in Melbourne last week.
In one, Ms Tommey said US anti-vaxxers were collaborating with the Australian Vaccination-sceptics Network on a national Vaxxed tour bus.
“We have a team who are flying to America to come on the (Vaxxed) bus with us and train up. We will then come back and we are going to be looking for an RV or a bus. We are going to wrap it with Vaxxed and our team is going to go out on the road,” she said.
She called on Australian anti-vaxxers to fund the operation, adding “It will drive your Health Minister insane.”
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said: “I flatly condemn the movie and the anti-vaccination message as being based on unscientific conspiracy theories.”
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