HAP Anti-vaccination
Background
In October 2015 Isaac Golden founded the Health Australia Party (HAP) by taking over and renaming an existing political party, the Natural Medicine Party (NMP). The founder of NMP, Andrew Patterson, became HAP's NSW State President, the Registered Officer (AEC), and ran as a NSW senate candidate in the 2016 federal election.Patterson was a bad look for a party desperate to gain legitimacy for natural health and to rid itself of the anti-vaccination label. His social media feeds were full of crank conspiracies and rabidly anti-vaccination views whilst other HAP candidates looked squeaky clean and mostly sensible, in comparison. During the 2016 federal election campaign HAP received some negative media attention, including:
- Election 2016: Fringe-dwellers vie for their place in the Senate (Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June);
- Election 2016: Revamped Health Australia Party broadens policies, but raises ire of AMA (ABC News, 28 June);
- Federal election 2016: Daily Telegraph exposes the kooks, nuts and just out there voter grabbers (Daily Telegraph, 30 June)
In the middle of an election campaign, HAP had no choice but to respond.
Excerpt from HAP Media Release 22-06-16 President replies to AMA [pdf], by Professor Kerry Bone, President Health Australia Party:
Bone went on the say that the AMA position smacks of an overreaction. ''They are trying to paint the Health Australia Party as an irrelevant lunatic fringe movement in order to stifle healthy debate.''
Excerpts from Why is there a need for the Health Australia Party (HAP)? by Professor Kerry Bone, 27 June 2016:
''…the HAP is being painted as a group of lunatic, anti-science extremists who have dangerous policies.''
''I have always supported vaccination where it can be safely and effectively used, and that is also the HAP's policy.''
Excerpt from ABC News article, updated 28 June 2016:
Mr Woodforth rejected the suggestion HAP is anti-vaccine.He said the reason the party was seen as anti-vaccine was because it did not support the "no jab, no pay" or "no jab, no play" policies.
''The Health Party believes in safe and effective immunisation, always has. The problem we've got is there's no adverse reactions register,'' he said.
He believed people were not given enough warnings before vaccination, which he said could lead to severe, even permanent health conditions.
HAP failed to win a senate seat and it ceremoniously dumped Patterson and his wife, HAP's National Secretary, Judy Cooke, from the party immediately after the election. Please refer to Reasonable Hank post Leaked email shows Health Australia Party suffering post-election implosion .
Anti-Vaccination
Health Australia Party doesn't have a specific policy addressing vaccination but it does reject being labelled "anti-vaccination". HAP released an Official Statement ''No Jab No Pay/Play Legislation , dated 2 April 2016, excerpts follow:''Monitoring and reportage of adverse reactions is completely inadequate.''A mealy-mouthed and disingenuous attempt to avoid the anti-vaccination label, if ever I saw one. The big-bad-evil-big-pharma controlling big-bad-evil-media gambit, along with a favourite anti-vaccination gambit of "informed consent".
''There is a lack of transparency around the dealings of pharmaceutical companies which appear to be largely exempt from Freedom of Information requests…''
''The selective and biased nature of some media activity is also a major concern, and needs to be addressed.''
''…and policy should reflect the very best in independent research, and with respect to established medical ethics such as the notion of 'informed consent'''.
In my opinion, if Health Australia Party wishes to avoid the anti-vaccination label, it needs to
be specific in its views on vaccination. Which vaccinations would it recommend today?
And why/why not?
How can potential voters be assured that HAP will
promote/support responsible public health policy in the event it ever wins a senate seat, when so
many of its executive, advisory board, and senate candidates hold outrageous, ridiculous, and
potentially dangerous views on vaccination?
Until HAP address these questions adequately, the
anti-vaccination label is both fitting and richly deserved.
Please note, Isaac Golden is not featured below because it is entirely obvious that this global expert on homeoprophylaxis who specialises in the epidemic of vaccine damaged children, is anti-vaccination.
Due to the amount of information presented, the following Health Australia Party officials are
featured on separate pages:
Jason Woodforth
Ed Stattmann
Catherine Chan
Andrew Patterson
Refer to page Health Australia Party: Senate Candidates (2016), section New South Wales - Andrew Patterson.Cathy Nolan
Health Australia Party:Current: QLD State Secretary
General:
President, Australian Register of Homoeopaths (AROH)
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description: Nolan shares an anti-vaccination article, promoting the debunked vaccine-autism link.
shared material: [content] Concerns regarding vaccinations continue to increase exponentially in light of all of the information and documentation that has surfaced over the past… |
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description: Nolan likes an anti-vaccination article by NVIC.
Nolan [quote]:
linked material: [content] Vaccines news, alerts and commentaries from the National Vaccine Information Center - Barbara Loe Fisher, Theresa K. Wrangham and Dawn Richardson [source] National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) |
Leanne Paff
Health Australia Party:Previous: 2016 senate candidate (NSW)
General:
Provisional psychologist; naturopath; homeopath; counsellor
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description: Paff shares an anti-vaccination post.
Paff [quote]:
shared material: [content] Protesters insists that the CDC is not telling the truth about vaccines and autism. So is there any truth to their claims? Ben Swann sets the facts straight in this Reality Check you won't see anywhere else. [source] Ben Swann |
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description: Paff shares an anti-vaccination post.
shared material: [content] People must understand that the no Jab policy is only the beginning & we now have, not only a war against health freedoms… [source] The Crazz Files |
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description: Paff shares a link to an anti-vaccination video by antivax activist, Suzanne Humphries.
shared material: [content] Dr Suzanne Humphries, a practicing nephrologist (kidney physician) says the vaccine industry isn't… |
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description: Paff shares a link to an anti-vaccination post.
shared material:
[content] What do you think? - Please Share [source] Man Made Epidemic |
Maggie Sands
Health Australia Party:Current: Advisory Board member (naturopathy and remedial medicines) commenced March 2015
General:
naturopathy, herbal medicine
Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS): Director (from 1987); Life Member (from 1999); past President (2013), Vice-President (1999-2006, 2009-2011), Treasurer (2012)
Founder & Principal of School of Integrated body Therapy
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description: Sands publishes an anti-vaccination comment on a Facebook post.
Sands [quote]:
Original post: [source] Thinking Moms' Revolution |
Andrew Hicks
Health Australia Party:Current: Party Agent; Victorian State Secretary
''On a personal note, I have decided not to vaccinate my son due to family history of auto-immune
disease, comprehensive research (hundreds of hours) and approach to health.
Vaccination is a very tunnel vision approach to health and not the most effective.
Given my family history, I am sure that my son would have negative side effects (which are quite common)
and potentially auto-immune diseases and/or chronic disease which are both increasing at alarming rates.''
Source: Hicks, A 2015, 'No Jab No Play Proposed Legislation' [submission], Parliament of Victoria, 27 September, viewed 19 November 2016, <submission to SARC, Andrew Hicks >
Judy Jacka
Health Australia Party:Current: member HAP Advisory Board (Naturopathy)
General:
Made an Honorary Fellow of Western Sydney University, 9 April 2016.
Vice-Chairperson, The Jacka Foundation of Natural Therapies.
Awarded Life Membership of Australian National Therapists Association in 1996.
Principal of the Southern School of Natural Therapies 1974 to 1985, chairperson until 1996.
Author of numerous books about natural health.
| Excerpts from 'A-Z of Natural Therapies', by Judy Jacka | |
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description: Excerpt from Jacka's book
Jacka: |
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Jacka: [title] Whooping Cough ''In spite of immunisation, I have treated many immunised children for whooping cough over the last fifteen years. Epidemics appear to go in cycles of seven years. The medical explanation for this is that, due to the virus changing its protein coat every seven years or so, the previous batches of prepared sera are then no longer suitable. Natural therapists do not like mass immunisation, and we refer our clients to the medical literature which questions its efficacy. Several very eminent scientists have condemned immunisation programs outright.''
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Jacka: ''Natural therapists are often asked about whether women of child-bearing age whould have rubella immunisation. Our approach to possible foetal malformation resulting from rubella infection is to make women aware that any virus can severely affect the foetus in the absence of good immunity. We are concerned that all women should protect themselves from viral attack by supplementing their diet during pregnancy and even before with adequate amounts of vitamin C.'' ''More specifically, natural therapists point to the findings of Dr Beverley Allen who carried out a research project involving immunisation of several hundred army recruits with rubella. They were then tested for antibody levels, and exposed to rubella. A significant proportion manifested the disease despite apparently having the antibodies! She asked the question: What if these had been pregnant women? Unfortunately, the media rarely report those cases of rubella, polio, whooping cough, and other infectious diseases which manifest despite immunisation. In addition natural therapists are concerned about the long term effect of viruses injected into the body with respect to chronic disease such as arthritis and cancer.'' |
| Source: Jacka, J 2004, A-Z of Natural Therapies, Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi, India. | |
Official HAP Facebook group
Health Australia Party:Administrators of the official Facebook group of the Health Australia Party.
Note: administrators Andrew Hicks and Jason Woodforth have been featured separately.
The table below only features a single post from each administrator to simply demonstrate that they are anti-vaccination.
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Bec Bridson Bridson shares an anti-vaccination post.
shared material:
[content] [source] Uniting Healthcare Professionals Against Mandatory Vaccinations |
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Ewen Richards Richards shares an anti-vaccination post.
shared post:
linked material: [content] Editors note: This column by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rejected for publication by major newspapers. Mr. Kennedy published it in USA Today as a paid advertisement. WND posts it here in full. I am pro-vaccine. I had all of my six children vaccinated. I believe that vaccines save millions of lives. So… [source] WND |
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Kathryn Condor Condor publishes an anti-vaccination post to Vaccination Information Network (VINE)
Condor [quote]: ''Dr.Blaylock is a nationally recognized, board-certified neurosurgeon, health practitioner, author and lecturer. He has more than a quarter-century of medical experience.''
linked material: |
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Charlie Eclaire [fake name] Comment posted by Eclaire to News Talk 3AW 693, 21 Oct 2016
Eclaire [quote]: |
Posted: 20 Nov 2016
Last update: 7 Mar 2017