Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] This referral of the COVID-19 Vaccination Status (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2021, which I have put up, has been denied by this chamber on a couple of occasions. The people of Australia have shown that they do want to have a voice and that they want to have a say. I don't believe that the people of this chamber really understand the hurt and pain they're causing to the people of Australia, which is quite evident by the rallies that have been conducted around Australia. People have come out in their hundreds of thousands, and will continue to do so.

These people are not extremists. These are ordinary mums and dads, teachers, doctors, nurses and people who work in the fire brigade and police—just ordinary, everyday workers; those who work in retail outlets or who are construction workers. All these people have been denied their basic human right to make a choice about having a vaccination or not. These people are now losing their jobs and livelihoods. They're so distraught, distressed and hurt because they're being told what to do with their own bodies.

We don't have a pandemic. The last strain that they've said has come into the country, the omicron, was actually brought in by someone who was double-vaxxed. That's right: double-vaxxed. I don't know if people actually know the figures which have come out of Britain, but the number of people who are in hospital with COVID is greater for the double-vaxxed by 192 to those who aren't vaxxed at 112. So the push to have people vaccinated is only causing them more health issues. We've had 80,000 people who have actually recorded an adverse reaction to vaccinations through the TGA. We have people who have health issues now, especially young males with myocarditis or pericarditis, due to the vaccination. We have people who can't get to see a doctor, dentist or a psychologist unless they have been double-vaxxed. We have people who have left the armed services and who need to see a psychologist but they can't be seen now because they're not double-vaxxed. You people are causing more stress and harm—suicides, the breakup of families and the loss of jobs—by putting people in distress, and for what reason?

We were elected to be a voice for the people, and you are denying those people the right to have their say at a Senate committee inquiry. I don't understand that. Senator Rice got up and explained that for the proper process you actually have to give the people the right to speak on religious discrimination. You stood there, Senator Rice, and you were actually voting, saying that we must give the people this opportunity to have their say on such an important issue. Well, what's more important than the freedom of people to make a choice about what gets injected into their bodies?

Doctors have been shut down from having a say. Doctors are leaving the profession and nurses are leaving the profession because of COVID-19. It's got nothing to do with the fact that they're antivaxxers. They see the adverse reactions from this vaccine which are coming through in patients now.

Honourable senators interjecting—