Australian PM Reprimands MP over COVID-19 Misinformation

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned a member of the parliament (MP) to stop advocating unproven COVID-19 treatments on social media.

Morrison on Wednesday asked Craig Kelly, the MP for Hughes in the state of New South Wales (NSW), to stop spreading information that contradicts the official healthcare advice over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelly has previously used social media to cast doubt over the safety of vaccines, call for resignation of Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, liken mask mandates for children to child abuse and support hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.

Following his meeting with Morrison, Kelly said in a statement that he supported the government’s planned vaccine rollout.

“This morning I had a meeting with the Prime Minister,’’he said.

“The Prime Minister reinforced the importance of ensuring public confidence in the Government’s vaccine strategy. I agreed to support the government’s vaccine rollout which has been endorsed by medical experts.’’

“I believe that the spread of misinformation can damage the success of our public health response during the pandemic,’’ he said.

The statement came also after Kelly was confronted in the halls of Parliament by Tanya Plibersek, the opposition Labor party’s education minister, who said his crazy conspiracy theories were irresponsible and dangerous.

“My Mum lives in your electorate and I don’t want her exposed to people who are not going to be vaccinated because of these crazy conspiracy theories you are spreading,’’ Plibersek reportedly said to Kelly.