Medical apartheid in Queensland

Beautiful one day, segregated the next.

Medical apartheid continues to make its way across Australia, this time with Queensland joining other states in announcing a raft of looming restrictions for unvaccinated individuals. 

The new protocols include restrictions against those who opt not to take the provisionally-approved COVID-19 vaccines and workplace vaccine mandates across the entertainment and hospitality sectors from December 17, or once 80 per cent of Queenslanders aged 16 and above have been fully jabbed.

The egalitarian Australian way would be to oppose segregation based on COVID-19 vaccination status (or any other status) but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has lauded the new rules, describing them as both a “reward” for the fully vaccinated and a precaution for when borders open and COVID-19 cases start to spread.

While the restrictions are yet to be published as detailed health directions, under the new Queensland medical apartheid protocols, there is no mention of whether unvaccinated people can attend churches. 

In the last Brisbane lockdown, churches were shut and considered “non-essential.” The new rules in Queensland, on the other hand, impose that venue capacity in private functions will be capped at 20 people, or one per four square metres, if unvaccinated individuals are in attendance. 

This means from 17 December, weddings, which can be religious ceremonies, are restricted to 20 people maximum if an unvaccinated person is invited. The questions remains: Will the State Government be banning or restricting unvaccinated Queenslanders from attending church over Christmas?

Premier Palaszczuk claimed people “deserve to know that they can go to these places and that they are safe,” as she announced another day without any new cases of COVID-19. She added, “There is plenty of time this week to go and start getting vaccinated. Get your first vaccination.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk @AnnastaciaMP

Fully vaccinated Queenslanders will be rewarded on 17 December or once we reach 80% double dosed ⬇️

Further invading medical privacy and ramping up segregation, vaccinations will be required in government-owned halls, libraries and museums. Outdoor reception venues, including sports stadiums and playgrounds, will also be restricted to vaccinated people. 

There are a lot of business owners concerned about the prospect of choosing between enforcing Ms Palaszczuk’s medical apartheid and being slapped with a big fine, as well as losing at least 20 percent of their customer base in the process. 

Earlier, the Australian Human Rights Commission warned that vaccine passport-type systems “may have significant implications for privacy and autonomy, freedom of movement and association, equity and discrimination, particularly when it comes to accessing everyday goods and services.”

Authorised by G. Christensen, Mackay, for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party.