On paper Covid-19 vaccines are not mandatory in Australia (except for previously reported aged care and certain quarantine workers). According to the Federal Government ‘vaccination for Covid is voluntary’ [Source]. On the ground the idea of voluntary choice is being challenged. The push is on by some State Governments, employer groups and industries to force compulsory vaccines.
This article outlines examples where Governments and employers are starting to exclude people from employment if they refuse Covid-19 jabs. Similarly some interstate cross-border travel is becoming subject to Covid-19 vaccination status, among other consideration factors.
Here are some highlights of a growing trend enforcing compulsory Covid-19 vaccination in Australia evident in multiple Governments and media sources:
- NSW Government mandated construction workers take the jab as a requirement to participate in the State construction industry or face termination from employment. Employers in the construction industry are also mandated to exclude people from certain areas with high Covid-19 rates ‘unless they have received a Covid-19 vaccination’. [Source].
- Currently those excluded includes people from ‘Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.’ [Source]. No jab, no paid construction work.
- The Queensland Government now compels NSW entrants to take a jab prior to entry into QLD based on higher levels of Covid-19 prevalence in NSW, and perhaps unhelped by NSW lax Covid-19 suppression approach.
- The Tasmania State Government recently proposed that tourists entering and exiting Tassie should be jabbed
Some industry groups are starting to compel their workers to take Covid-19 jabs. These include:
- Qantas – has mandated its employees to take the Covid-19 jab. A Statement issued by Qantas says all cabin crew, pilots and airport workers must be jabbed by 15 November 2021. And all non-frontline workers must be jabbed by 31 March 2022 in order to keep their jobs. [Source ]According to Forbes Magazine, Qantas move is not isolated, as other US companies and carriers such as United, Frontier, and Hawaiian Airlines are implementing similar immunization policies
- SPC A fruit and vegetable manufacturing conglomerate has mandated all frontline staff to get the jab by November or face exclusion from SPC employment. [Source]
- Tourism Peak bodies – this week tourism bodies in WA and Tasmania have called for compulsory vaccinations
Under Australia’s existing State laws, where a State Public Health Orders exist, this may provide some legal protection when a business or Government authority makes a move to compel staff to get a jab. This is by no means the only consideration as a person’s right to choose what goes in their body is not something that can be simply extinguished by a political & bureaucratic pronouncement. It is complex. This raises many questions such as:
- How do Government Authorities make and use Public Health Orders?
- What happens if a State Government takes a lax approach in preventing Covid-19 spread and instead over relies on Public Health Orders to enforce vaccinations?
- What are consequences of ignoring prevention in the first instance as seen in the recent NSW spread? NSW ‘gentler’ lax suppression approach failed to contain an outbreak that started with one Limousine Driver. Instead of moving fast to contain the spread, NSW authorities took the view that the virus can just ‘dribble’ for a quite bit. This concern has been covered at NSW Press Conferences, just Google.
- Why are swift, short and effective lockdown lessons from WA, SA, NT or QLD carrying no weight with NSW and Federal authorities?
- It will be morally wrong for WA or NT or SA to agree to NSW push that they should open up borders at present time and start leaving with COVID. It is not morally right to be lax as a policy setting just for the sake of nudging or compelling people into being jabbed. Let them choose.
- Who can be mandated also seems to be a function of power. Trades people from Sydney Western Suburbs are being compelled to take a jab to keep their jobs but doctors in major hospitals and General Practice are not mandated despite that they deal with vulnerable people every day. I am not suggesting doctors be forced to take a jab at all. I am observing the power dynamics in terms of who is compelled and who is left to make a voluntary choice.
- Pressure exerted on WA by NSW, the Feds and dominant Media leaves a lot to be desired! If you are WA why put at risk the mining sector and the benefits it brings to the broader WA economy? Perth will be so much worse off if COVID is allowed to affect the mining sector here as it did in South America ala Brazil. Mining has many multiplier effects to many other sectors and industries in WA from my everyday observations and my rudimentary economics.
- At this point, WA is living a normal life so why adopt NSW COVID policies and end up with devastated childcare arrangements/industry, devastated education arrangements across all years, needless to mention the chaotic implications for matriculation into post-secondary education such as TAFE/ University we see in NSW & VIC?
- Why WA would exchange current freedoms with immense psychological pressure experienced by our compatriots in Sydney and Melbourne no end? So while some don’t see any sense in WA tough stance on boarders, many WA residents are horrified whenever they hear attacks directed at WA State.
- What is seen by some over East as WA parochialism, for many of us in WA we see as logical economic and social imperatives for WA. It’s not that we are not aware that open borders could be a good thing for Australia, but the terms and timing are not things that can be ignored as that can severely impact economic and social foundations in WA. Australia National Cabinet will do us a favour if it factors in valid WA concerns
- Finally, we know even countries that are far ahead in vaccination rates are finding vaccines are not a silver bullet (they talking 3rd booster shots). Good policy should not ignore that fact. We should look more broadly how to prevent and manage Covid-19 and support population groups across Australia. Surely we need a broader public health policy that looks so much more broadly than a single answer in vaccination.
References:
AAP. Construction
workers from COVID-hit areas of Sydney must be vaccinated to return to site. Reporter: 08/08/2021. https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/vax-shot-a-must-as-sydney-builders-return-c-3624176
ABC. Shock over Queensland's one-jab rule for workers crossing border while vaccine supply uneven. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-17/covid-19-confusion-workers-border-crossings/100382742
Government of Western Australia. NSW to transition to new ‘extreme risk’ category to keep WA safe. Friday, 20 August 2021. https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/08/NSW-to-transition-to-new-extreme-risk-category-to-keep-WA-safe.aspx
Government of
Western Australia. Amendments to WA’s
controlled border with NSW, ACT and SA.13/08/2021
11:50 AM https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/08/Amendments-to-WAs-controlled-border-with-NSW-ACT-and-SA.aspx
NSW Government. Construction rules and restriction. 22 August 2021. https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccination-nsw/covid-19-vaccination-for-workers
SMH. SPC first Australian company to
require its staff to be vaccinated.
Reporter: David Estcourt & Dominic Powell. 5 August 2021. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/spc-to-require-onsite-staff-and-visitors-to-be-vaccinated-20210805-p58g08.html]
Qantas Airlines.
QANTAS GROUP
TO REQUIRE EMPLOYEES TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19. 18 AUGUST 2021. https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-group-to-require-employees-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19/
The Australian. ‘Given up’: Palaszczuk’s dig at Gladys. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnews%2Flatest-news%2Fwe-havent-given-up-queensland-premier-palaszczuks-swipe-at-nsws-handling-of-delta-outbreak%2Fnews-story%2F55703a08fea2d07b1c26672841d17b4c&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium
