Coronavirus Australia: Attack on medical chief Brendan Murphy blows up in union’s face
Teachers’ union issues a humiliating apology for personally attacking respected state CMO Dr Nicola Spurrier.
The teachers’ union has issued a humiliating apology after its South Australian branch was denounced by both sides of politics for releasing a smear sheet attacking the state’s respected Chief Medical Officer, Nicola Spurrier.
In a PR disaster, the Australian Education Union’s SA branch posted a mocked-up information sheet on social media on Thursday headed “SERIOUSLY SPURRIER?’ and smeared with hand prints, ridiculing the associate professor’s COVID-19 advice.
It was part of the union’s #keepthemhome campaign urging parents to ignore Dr Spurrier’s advice and to keep their children away from school when classes resume for term two on Monday.
Within minutes of its release, the post had caused outrage across social media, attracting thousands of negative comments and the bipartisan denunciation of Premier Steven Marshall and Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas.
A furious Mr Marshall sprang to the defence of his CMO, who has won wide acclaim for her handling of the pandemic as SA flattens the curve and contains its few clusters of infection.
Prof Nicola Spurrier has helped keep South Australians safe and calm during a global pandemic.
— Steven Marshall, MP (@marshall_steven) April 23, 2020
This is a grubby attack on a South Australian champion which the AEU must immediately take down and apologise for.
Politicians are fair game. Not our public health officials. pic.twitter.com/ecXxeFalQX
“Prof Nicola Spurrier has helped keep South Australians safe and calm during a global pandemic,” the Premier tweeted.
“This is a grubby attack on a South Australian champion which the AEU must immediately take down and apologise for.”
Mr Malinauskas followed soon after, tweeting: “The AEU has got this one wrong! They are entitled to advocate for their members’ interests, but they should not attack a hard working public servant like Professor Nicola Spurrier.”
The AEU has got this one wrong!
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) April 23, 2020
They are entitled to advocate for their members interests, but they should not attack a hard working public servant like Professor Nicola Spurrier who is doing her best to serve our State at a critical and important time. pic.twitter.com/bKVoSNWE3I
As the leaders’ comments attracted several hundred likes, the AEU sheepishly deleted the post late on Thursday and, in a torrid radio interview, newly elected AEU president Lara Golding apologised for the post.
“It wasn’t meant to be targeting a public servant,” Ms Golding told Radio FiveAA on Friday.
She also said she didn’t even know the post had been written and had not seen it or authorised it before it blew up on social media.
The admission that she was unaware of the post is an early blow to the authority of Ms Golding, who was regarded as a more level-headed and moderate voice when elected president last December against her more hardline predecessor, Howard Spreadbury.
The blow-up over Dr Spurrier has invited wider condemnation, with several people on Twitter noting the SA branch of the AEU had supported the right of students to protest in Extinction Rebellion rallies, saying the science was clear on climate change, yet was now questioning the science as outlined by the CMO.
Earlier this week Ms Golding was also criticised when she claimed Mr Marshall cared less about the safety of teachers than some other state leaders.
The Premier dismissed the claim and noted that SA schools were now much safer than they were a month ago as the rate of infection in SA grinds close to a halt.
There have been no cases of student-to-student transmission in SA schools and just one case of teacher-to-student transmission, with the student making a swift and full recovery. On three days this week SA recorded zero cases of new infections.
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