Move to extend CHO’s draconian Covid powers slammed
Scott McDougall will today appear at a parliamentary committee to argue pandemic laws restricting people’s movements now in place for more than two years “must be replaced with more transparent, accountable and human rights compatible legislation”.
No longer urgent, and with more now known about the virus and the impact of restrictions on people’s mental health, laws should now contain “sufficient safeguards for human rights” and prevent the potential misuse of power, he said.
“As a community, we have learnt about the impacts of quarantining conditions on people’s mental health, the human rights limitations arising from public health directions that confine people to their homes and the mandating of vaccines,” Mr McDougall wrote in a scathing, 12-page submission to the committee.
“Powers imposing such significant human rights limitations cannot continue without proper oversight, transparency and external review.
“Otherwise, their compatibility with human rights is at question.
“The Commission recommends this Bill not proceed and instead be replaced with comprehensive, human rights compatible pandemic legislation.”
Mr McDougall said the Commission had been “very careful” not to undermine public health measures and was generally supportive of the pandemic response, despite no access to relevant evidence or expertise driving the measures.
But there was “diminishing justification” for continuing the current approach and, at a minimum, the government must clarify how the Human Rights Act applies to the CHO’s decision’s to make public health directions, he said.
“Any limitations on rights should be necessary and proportionate, and the justification for those limitations should be backed by evidence”, he argues.
The Bill will again extend temporary amendments to the Public Health Act, due to expire on April 30, to October 31.
They allow public health directions restricting movement and gatherings, mandatory quarantining, self-isolation and social distancing, and allow the CHO to issue detention orders, authorise the sharing of confidential information for contact tracing and penalise those who don’t comply.
“There must be sufficient transparency in decision-making, including the publication of accessible, timely, clear and comprehensive information about limitations on human rights in a manner the public can understand,” he wrote.
“The Commission suggests this is a key part of the current framework which must be improved.
“For example, public health directions made by the CHO are not accompanied by a statement of reasons or analysis of human rights limitations.”
He argues there “should be independent oversight and review of decisions made under public health directions, in particular review of decisions to detain people in quarantine”, and says it is currently “unclear” whether a person can seek judicial review of a public health direction on human rights grounds.
He said while daily press conferences had been beneficial, there must be better scrutiny by the parliament and courts too.
Mr McDougall points out the legislation, if extended, would continue to allow for mandatory 14-day quarantine periods, despite the AHPPC advising in December that the standardised quarantine period should only be 7 days.
By The Mercury
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Queensland Human Rights Commissioner slams plan to extend Chief Health Officer's COVID-19 emergency powers
Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall argues that COVID-19 pandemic laws are "no longer fit for purpose" as the impacts of restrictions on mental health outweighs public health risks.
The Queensland government's move to extend emergency powers for the Chief Health Officer has been slammed by the state's human rights commissioner.
Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall will appear before a parliamentary hearing to argue that it's time to move on from the current pandemic laws.
Mr McDougall insists the state's pandemic laws, which includes giving the CHO power to restrict movement and detain people in quarantine, are "no longer fit for purpose".
Mr McDougall said the impacts of pandemic restrictions on people's mental health far outweighed the risk of the pandemic to public health.
"As a community, we have learnt about the impacts of quarantining conditions on people's mental health, the human rights limitations arising from public health directions that confine people to their homes and the mandating of vaccines," he said in a 12-page submission to the committee.
"Powers imposing such significant human rights limitations cannot continue without proper oversight, transparency and external review. Otherwise, their compatibility with human rights is at question.
"The Commission recommends this Bill not proceed and instead be replaced with comprehensive, human rights compatible pandemic legislation."
The Bill will continue to extend temporary amendments to the Public Health Act, which is due to expire on April 30, to October 31 2022.
In particular, the Bill will extend all amendments including to:
- increase powers for two key decision-makers under the Act: the Chief Health Officer (CHO), who may take action to respond to the spread of COVID-19 in Queensland, including by issuing public health directions to require physical distancing, restrict movement and gatherings, require people to quarantine or self-isolate and implement other containment measures;
- emergency officers, who may also take related action, particularly against individuals, including by issuing detention orders;
- authorise the sharing of confidential information for contact tracing; encourage compliance with quarantine requirements and other public health directions by providing appropriate penalties for contraventions;
- increase the period for which a regulation may extend a declared public health emergency from seven to 90 days;
- enable fees to be charged for costs associated with the mandatory quarantine of persons in government-arranged accommodation;
- and protect personal information collected for contact tracing COVID-19.
By Crystal Wu
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‘I don’t know what’s around the corner’
Premier defends mandate amid protests
Queensland’s Premier has defended the state’s ongoing coronavirus vaccine rules as the sound of drums leaked into Parliament from hundreds of protesters swarmed outside for a third day.
While demonstrators outside cried for the scrapping of a bill to extend the Chief Health Officer’s powers until October, inside the similarly loud legislative assembly the focus was on integrity matters and the state’s flood response.
Interjections from MPs, often above the sound of drumming and chants from protesters, led to warnings for six including Treasurer Cameron Dick and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.
During question time, Katter’s Australia Party MP Shane Knuth quizzed the Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, on the need for continued vaccine mandates, citing comments from Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall who called on the government to enact “fit-for-purpose” laws rather than extended emergency powers.
Ms Palaszczuk said she was very concerned about the impact unvaccinated people could have on the older people who have accounted for most of the state’s COVID death toll.
“I don’t think anyone likes to see these vaccination mandates out there,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “But the reality is we still need to drive up that vaccination rate and we need to protect the community ... I don’t know what’s around the corner.”
The Premier urged parents to get their children vaccinated to help lift the stagnated 43 per cent first-dose rate, the lowest among all Australian states and territories.
While having just surpassed 90 per cent full vaccination among the state’s 12-plus population, the figure is also the lowest among all other jurisdictions. As is the percentage of that cohort with booster doses, which sits at 53.55 per cent.
Some experts have warned that ongoing vaccine mandates beyond the kind of high vaccination rates reached in Australia could fuel the radicalisation of those opposed to them.
Such protest movements have emerged across Australia and the world in recent months.
The protests in Brisbane appear loosely based on the recent “Convoy to Canberra” and “Kill the Bill” efforts in Melbourne.
Outgoing federal Coalition backbencher George Christensen was seen among the group on Wednesday, with One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson and KAP leader Robbie Katter, a state MP, also joining the crowd this week.
Some demonstrators travelled from north Queensland at the weekend, with many camped at a public park in nearby West End.
The bill in question is being considered by a parliamentary committee not due to report until March 25 — a day before the broader public health emergency declaration is set to end, ahead of the expiration of a number of related pieces of legislation at the end of April.
After the opening of international borders last month and dropping of mask rules almost a fortnight ago, authorities had flagged that remaining restrictions would be reviewed on a weekly basis.
Infections and hospitalisations in the state inched up on Wednesday, as concerns about increasing spread of the BA.2 sub-variant — not yet dominating the screened cases in Queensland — continued in some southern states.
Political interference in the role of outgoing Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov, and whether the Palaszczuk government has provided legal indemnity and the covered court costs of a prominent Labor identity dominated Opposition lines of attack during question time.
Cases and hospitalisations up slightly in Queensland for a second day https://t.co/6OPCqzPG2q
— Matt Dennien (@mattdennien) March 16, 2022
Most went largely unanswered, with Ms Palaszczuk and Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman citing a lack of detail to respond or legal restrictions around doing so, respectively.
By Matt Dennien
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Vaccination and the Media
Conflicts of interest in Australia
Former Australian Politician Peter Costello is now Chairman of the Australian Government Investment Fund which includes over a billion dollars’ worth of vaccine company shares, while he also chairs a media company which publishes articles demeaning and marginalising people who question the ever-increasing number of lucrative vaccine products being added to the vaccination schedule.
There’s a murky story to uncover about relationships between the media and vaccine industry…and connections with government.
We the people have to work on exposing this scandal ourselves…
Elizabeth Hart – Australia
Who owns the media in Australia?
Newscorp Australia
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/who-owns-who-in-australias-media/cu4e2uaff
Murdoch media as unbelievable as can be found in the world, except perhaps for the ABC
https://cairnsnews.org/2021/11/22/murdoch-media-as-unbelievable-as-can-be-found-in-the-world-except-perhaps-for-the-abc/
Note that mainstream media in Australia has massive conflicts of interest
The entire Australian Government Vaccination Policy is totally corrupted with systemic and widespread conflicts of interest (and there has never been any Independent Regulator to oversee or put a stop to these shocking situations which is and has always put entire populations in harm’s way.)
This Investigative Research is as per the work of Independent Investigators/Researchers Dr. Judy Wilyman and Elizabeth Hart and others and what they have discovered is absolutely disgusting and dangerous.
The article hereunder is another example of the crimes against the people of Australia by Government, with mainstream medicine, mainstream media and the Pharmaceutical Industry and their superglued ties/partnerships/members/revolving doors to State and Federal Governments in Australia.
See example of these Australian Tyrants:
Paul Joseph Watson
James Murdoch, Son of Rupert Murdoch gave $20 million to Biden, progressive groups in 2020:
June, 13, 2021 James Murdoch funneled $100 million into his Quadrivium Foundation, which gives to many progressive causes, and donated another $20 million to Democratic groups, CNBC reported.
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Australian Businesses Call for State to Review Vaccine Mandates
Small business owners in the Australian state of Queensland are calling for the state government to review COVID-19 mandates after the state reached 90 percent vaccination rate more than six weeks ago.
After two years of mandates and disruptions, data from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) indicates that business confidence is at its lowest levels since the start of the pandemic.
Amanda Rohan, CCIQ’s general manager of policy and advocacy, said the state government promised a vaccine mandate review when the 90 percent vaccination milestone was reached but that do date there had been no certainty as to what the review included, what it meant for businesses, or if it happened at all.
“For close to two years Queensland communities have been doing everything they’ve been told to, everything they can, to get to this point in the state’s COVID recovery,” Rohan said in a release on March 22.
“Now is the time for government to level the playing field and bring businesses, their staff, customers, and communities still operating under the vaccine mandates into line with those businesses operating without any restrictions.
“Interstate and international tourists can travel about the state, mask rules have been relaxed, and the double vaccination rate is well over 90 percent,” she said.
CCIQ and businesses across the state are calling on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Small Business Minister Di Farmer to review mandates.
“Business have done their bit, now the state government needs to do their bit and deliver the review businesses were promised,” Rohan said. “We’ve been calling for this review since January but now businesses are desperate to know what’s next and how they can plan ahead.”
Amid supply chain disruptions, staff shortages, and consumer behaviour, Rohan said any opportunity to review red tape and mandates for businesses was “essential.”
“Let’s show our local and visiting communities we are open for business and support Queensland businesses who are ready to get back to what they do best supporting their staff, customers and communities,” Rohan said
The Epoch Times reached out to the office of the Queensland Small Business Minister but did not immediately receive a response to a request for comment.
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CHO reveals trigger point for return of Covid restrictions
Amid a spike in Covid case numbers, Queensland’s chief health officer has revealed what it would take for restrictions to be reintroduced.
Covid-19 cases have spiked across the state this week as Queenslanders become “relaxed” about living with the virus, which authorities are warning is “as dangerous as it’s always been”.
Queensland recorded a 15 per cent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases over the past week, with 8881 new cases and nine deaths reported on Tuesday. The figure is the largest number of daily cases the state has seen since February 2, but is below the peak of the Omicron wave in January where numbers were doubling every two days.Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the new virus substrain, BA2, was “a bit more transmissible” than the original Omicron variant and was becoming the dominant strain worldwide.
However, Dr Gerrard anticipated Queensland hospitals would cope with an increase in case numbers but said there was not enough modelling about whether hospitalisations would jump.
He said authorities were mainly concerned about people with severe disease requiring hospitalisation and declared there were no plans to reintroduce any restrictions amid the new strain.
“A legal restriction from the chief health officer is a very serious thing to undertake,” he said.
“I will only do that if there is an immediate threat to the safety of Queenslanders.”
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland advocacy manager Amanda Rohan said businesses were crying out for a review into the vaccine mandate, which was promised when the state reached the 90 per cent target.
“Now is the time for government to level the playing field and bring businesses, their staff, customers and communities still operating under the vaccine mandates into line with those businesses operating without any restrictions,” she said. Dr Gerrard said there were “active discussions” about mandates every day.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has pleaded with parents to get children aged 5-11 vaccinated, with that rate hovering at only 43.15 per cent. “We know the majority of young children are not going to get seriously ill but we have a vaccine there and why take the risk that your child could be that one that ends up needing hospitalisation,” she said. Queensland Tourism and Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe has also tested positive to Covid-19.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland was “seeing a little spike in Covid cases” and revealed more younger people needed to get the jab. “I’d like to see the number of parents getting their primary school students vaccinated increase,” she said.“We are still lagging behind some of the other states.”
Almost 40 per cent of eligible people who were due for boosters have not come forward yet.
By The Mercury
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