Hello, for those of you that are watching this broadcast for the first time, I am Russell Broadbent, Federal Member for Monash - in regional Victoria. West Gippsland to be precise. I have served the parliament for 25 years.
I would like to follow up on the critical issue I raised a few days ago.
Let us be clear, this is the most important Bill facing Australian's and our democracy right now. If we don’t have free speech, we don't have freedom.
In the proposed ‘misinformation and disinformation’ Bill, the Labour Government is intending to be the arbiter of truth and dictate to the Australian people what is truth.
Why is this dangerous? If the past 3 years have taught us anything, it’s taught us that knowledge and opinion must be questioned at every turn. Our democracy depends on it.
Let’s look over some of the things touted as ‘conspiracy theory’ or ‘misinformation’, that later turned out to be true:
We were told the virus definitely didn’t come from a lab. Now, it’s widely acknowledged the virus may well have originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
When people questioned the lockdowns we were told lockdowns would ‘stop transmission and save lives’ – they didn’t. Instead, they crippled businesses, communities and lives.
When people questioned the Covid injections, we were told these injections would stop infection and transmission. They didn’t.
When people raised concerns about side effects including myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots, menstrual irregularities, and neurological symptoms, we were told the vaccines were very safe and side effects were rare. The TGAs own data tells another story. A story confirmed by hundreds, if not thousands, of Australians who have been significantly and adversely affected by these jabs.
When people questioned the mandates, we were told mandates were necessary to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable and to protect our healthcare system. Instead, the mandates saw thousands of workers unnecessarily sacked, placing further strain on our healthcare system, fuelling resentment and mistrust.
The only way to deal with this Bill is to take your concerns to your local member.
