Today I rise to pay my respect to and honour a remarkable group of Australians who have been unwavering in their support for and have sustained me in my fight to protect our freedoms, especially our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and freedom of speech. While I know there's always a risk in naming individuals, I cannot possibly list everyone who's played a part. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary commitment, tenacity and courage of the following people. These are the people who have consistently stood for truth and justice, no matter the personal or professional costs—medical professionals like doctors Julie Sladden, Chris Neil, Duncan Syme, Jeyanthi Kundahasan, Melissa McCann, Phil Altman, Judy Wilyman, David Bell and Kara Thomas; professors Ian Brighthope, Gigi Foster and Kylie O'Brien; lawyers Katie Ashby-Koppens, Julian Gillespie and Tony Nikolic; journalists Rebekah Barnett, Maryanne DeMassi and Elizabeth Hart; and, of course, former Qantas pilot Graham Hood, former paramedic John Larter and firefighter Josh Hawkes, who, despite being terminated from their jobs due to COVID mandates, have turned their adversity into a powerful force for truth and justice. A special mention goes to Katie Ashby-Koppens, who, as part of a small but determined team at the Aligned Council of Australia, a peak group representing over 1.8 million Australians, led the charge against the chilling and Orwellian mis- and disinformation bill, a bill that would have legalised state sanctioned surveillance and censorship.
In mid-2023, I wrote to all my fellow parliamentarians to sound the alarm about this heinous bill. Now, thanks to the efforts of thousands of Australians, the bill has been axed—for now at least. Today I'm proud to present to the House the 'Save the truth, Stop the Mad Bill' petition, which has been considered by the petitions committee and found to be in order.
The petition read as follows—
The proposed Misinformation and Disinformation Bill threatens to undermine freedom of speech and limit open public discourse in Australia. The Bill grants excessive powers to regulate online content, which could lead to censorship and stifling of independent opinions and media, putting our democratic values at risk. We believe that it is essential for the Australian people to retain the right to express their views without unnecessary government intervention.
We, the undersigned, believe that the proposed Misinformation and Disinformation Bill poses a significant threat to freedom of speech in Australia. This Bill risks undermining open dialogue and censoring independent voices by granting excessive regulatory powers over online content. We urge the House of Representatives to reject this Bill and protect the rights of Australians to freely express their opinions and access diverse information without undue government control.
From 908 citizens (Petition No. PN0630)
Petition received.
To all who signed: I applaud your courage in standing up for freedom of speech in this country. You recognised that this bill posed a grave threat to our ability to speak freely, exchange ideas and access information without undue government control—which brings me to another person I want to honour today.
Professor Robyn Cosford, a functional medicine doctor, educator and researcher, with 38 years of experience in nutritional and environmental medicine, has been a driving force behind the 'David Declaration', a powerful initiative born from the voices of thousands of Australians calling on the government to investigate the safety of COVID vaccines. The David Declaration outlines 10 clear demands for open and transparent dialogue about the TGA's vaccine safety and testing processes and a further 13 statements calling for the restoration of the health and wellbeing of all Australians.
When COVID hit, like many integrative doctors and health professionals, Robyn questioned why the world was being forced to take experimental vaccines for what was in essence a flu-like illness when safe and time-tested treatments like vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc and affordable, re-purposed drugs like Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and antibiotics have been shown to work. Robyn has been key in rallying doctors and health practitioners globally in support of my letters to the Prime Minister and health minister regarding DNA contamination in COVID vaccine vials—something the government has stubbornly ignored despite the growing body of evidence. This contamination may be linked to the surge in turbo cancers and autoimmune and neurological diseases that are becoming far too common in Western countries. So why isn't the government at least following this up?
Next week, the David Declaration website will go live. The name is a tribute to Dr David Speicher, the researcher who first identified the DNA contamination in Australian vaccine vials and to the David-and-Goliath struggle we're facing. Hundreds of medical professionals have already pledged to support the declaration, and soon the general public will also be able to sign. I'll share the link next week.
I'm truly honoured to have worked alongside such remarkable and brave individuals, and those I have named are just a few of the many inspiring people I've had the privilege to stand with over the last three years in this 47th Parliament. Together we continue to fight for truth, justice and the freedoms that define us as Australians. I say: follow the money, find the truth, and the truth will set you free.
I also acknowledge in the chamber tonight the member for Moreton, who I think is about to speak. I had the privilege of working with the member for Moreton on the House of Representatives human rights committee. I found him to be a person above reproach in his approach to the difficult issues we faced at the time. He is a gentleman in all his ways and a man who thought very deeply about the issues around human rights in Australia. He has been an adornment to this parliament. I thought it was very unfair and very uncharitable of the Speaker in this 47th Parliament to eject the member for Moreton from the parliament on his last day of sitting—the only reason being that his voice is a voice that can be heard.
