The Hon Daniel Andrews MP
Premier of Victoria
Parliament House
MELBOURNE VIC 3000

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Dear Premier,

Please find the results of a survey which posed the question of whether the Public Health Order to mandate vaccinations for authorised workers was 'necessary and proportionate to counter the risk of COVID.' The petition was 'live' for one week, with 11,200 signatures. People who signed the petition agreed that the mandate was disproportionate and heavy-handed. 5,978 of these signatories have provided comments which give insight as to why they have signed.

I have provided you with just a few here:

"I am vaccinated, but I think people need the choice. These times are hard enough now without the thought of being bullied into something they don't want or not sure of"

Another:

"The mandates punish and drive people away. Transparency and discussion would do a better job. Mandates turn the public on each other and I fear we are heading down a path of discrimination that will be incredibly harmful to us as a society. Dropping the mandates on so many industries with such a short time frame has created so much anxiety and stress. We have all suffered so much for almost 2 years. These mandates are breeding contempt not fostering hope."

Another:

"I am not an anti vaxer, I just want to be able to make my own choices."

Another:

"I agree that 'Public Health Order undermines the civil liberties of Victorians and puts at risk our already stretched workforce in regional Victoria."

I am firmly pro-vaccination and have encouraged the community to be vaccinated from the moment the vaccines were available. However, coercing people into choosing the vaccine or their job has inflamed tensions in workplaces and has reduced workers on the ground. Many young men in trades for example have opted to leave their workplace. This is a very poor outcome for already stretched workforces in regional communities. In addition, many volunteers including CFA have now withdrawn from serving the community where they live. I am sure you would agree that this is a bad outcome.

In my view, and in the view of the signatories of this position, this mandate is an overreach into the civil liberties of Victorians. This overreach is highlighted by the outstanding vaccination rates that were already achieved across Victoria on a voluntary basis.

I urge you to reconsider the mandate outside the health and aged care settings required, given the high vaccination rates in my electorate, of which many LGA's are over 95% first vaccination.

Sincerely,

Dr Anne Webster MP Federal Member for Mallee