Coronavirus Australia: Craig Kelly reprimanded over social media posts

A rogue MP was called into the Prime Minister’s office after months of posting messages that contradicted health advice. Find out why it took so long.

Rogue MP Craig Kelly was not reprimanded for spreading misinformation on social media because parliament had not resumed, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said.

Scott Morrison publicly distanced himself from Mr Kelly’s views on Wednesday after he told Mr Kelly to refrain from spreading coronavirus conspiracy theories that contradict government medical advice.

Speaking on Sunrise, Mr McCormack was asked why the government hadn’t called Mr Kelly in to the Prime Minister’s office before over the opinions he’d been sprouting.

But Mr McCormack defended the belated dressing down, saying “parliament has only resumed this week”.

“So you had to wait for parliament to resume?” presenter Natalie Barr asked.

“He is a Liberal and I know the Prime Minister has spoken to him yesterday, I know it’s an important thing,” Mr McCormack said.

“Craig has said he supports the vaccine strategy.”

Craig Kelly’s dressing down was prompted by a public confrontation between him and senior Labor MP Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr McCormack also insisted the Coalition MP George Christensen was “right behind” the government’s strategy despite the backbencher undercutting it by touting hydroxychloroquine against the advice of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

““George hasn’t been putting it up regularly on Facebook. He’s had some comments to make,” he told Sky News.

He was then pushed on whether the “odd post” post contracting official advice was acceptable, but Mr McCormack said: “It’s also about George very much pushing for jobs in the northeast.”

In a statement, Mr Kelly said he had always sought to support the success of our nation’s public health response during the pandemic.

But opposition health spokesman Mark Butler has revealed he has written to Facebook regarding the “dangerous misinformation” on Mr Kelly’s Facebook page.

Micheal McCormack insists Mr Kelly and fellow backbencher George Christensen are ‘right behind’ the government’s COVID-19 strategy.

“I urge Facebook to continue to monitor the harmful content that Mr Kelly is sharing and take appropriate action to protect public health,” Mr Butler said.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke told Sky News that posts from Mr Kelly that contradicted public health advice should be removed.

“Any advice on anybody’s social media that says vaccinations are dangerous from any government official on any government level should not be there,” he said.

“And Craig Kelly is committed to ensuring there is no disinformation through his own channels.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said if his team had not campaigned for Mr Kelly’s posts to be addressed “then nothing would have happened”.

“The fact that the Prime Minister, who on Monday at the National Press Club said Craig Kelly was doing a great job and refused to distance himself from the comments (and) within two days he has had to do that,” he said

“That is a credit to the way that my team has been holding the government to account.”