Gippsland Times 29 June 2021

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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

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MHR on backbench Darren Chester says he won’t be going anywhere, and will remain the member for Gippsland, despite the fact that he will no longer be a Cabinet minister.

GIPPSLAND MHR Darren Chester has again been relegated to the backbench, after a reshuffle by new Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce. The demotion follows Mr Chester’s support of former Nationals leader Michael McCormack during the recent leadership spill. It means Mr Chester is out of his job as Veterans’ Affairs Minister and Minister for Defence Personnel, despite the preparation work he has done for the looming Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. He has been replaced by New South Wales MP Andrew Gee. It’s a case of déjà vu for Mr Chester. In 2017, he was demoted so Mr Joyce could take over from him as Infrastructure and Transport Minister. At the weekend, Mr Joyce complimented Mr Chester for the work he had done, but said “that is the process of politics”. Mr Chester said he had been “incredibly humbled” by the support expressed publicly and privately in recent days by veterans’ organisations and individuals.

“I love Gippsland, and I’m not going anywhere,” he added. “There was still plenty of work to be done but that task will fall to the incoming minister. “I urge the ex-service community to provide the same constructive feedback, practical advice and input that my team benefited from.” Mr Chester said the Royal Commission was a chance to unite the veteran community and everyone had a chance to have their say. “As a backbencher, I want to see the coalition government maintain the momentum for reform, and build on all the good work we are doing while the Royal Commission runs its course,” he said. “As a grateful nation, we must support those who need our help, but at the same time promote the many achievements of our veteran community. “I also want to recognise the extraordinary leadership of the Australian Defence Force and the many thousands of serving personnel I’ve had the pleasure of meeting,” Mr Chester said. “You keep us safe in an ever-changing world and

you are the first people we turn to when the job gets too big for local agencies. “As a civilian, it has been a privilege to see you training and deploying at home and abroad. “In my own electorate, with your work on Operation Bushfire Assist and more recently with the flood and storm recovery, I have been constantly impressed by the professionalism, determination and resilience you display. “The character values of always looking after your mates, and acting with dignity and respect in adversity, have set a standard which I hope to emulate.” Mr Chester said there was a positive in the move to the backbench — he would be able to spend more time with his wife Julie and their four children. “Ministerial responsibility takes hours away from family life and the biggest benefit of being sacked from Cabinet for the second time is that we get to spend more time together in the place we love,” he said. Mark Coulton has lost his role as Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Continued page 6

Palmer flyer dangerous and misleading: GP AN inaccurate anti-vaccination flyer drop locally has frustrated the region’s health workers, with one local GP calling out the flyer as dangerously and deliberately misleading. Billionaire Clive Palmer, who has earnt his money from the mining industry and a short-lived political career, made headlines across the country last week for feeling “duty-bound” to pen an anti-COVID vaccination letter to the “Men and Women of Australia” — including those in central Gippsland. In his letter, Mr Palmer claims the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the government are spreading “misleading information designed to create fear in the population”, then reels off a list

of discredited statistics on the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 jabs and their side-effects. The Gippsland Times understands the flyer has landed in letter boxes in Sale, Maffra and Bairnsdale, and was delivered as part of a regular catalogue run. Dr Thomas Walsh from Sale’s Clocktower Medical Centre said he was frustrated by constantly finding himself battling against misinformation relating to COVID-19 vaccinations, adding he already knew of patients who had been persuaded by the flyer. “I think he’s deliberately misrepresenting the figures in a desperate plea for attention,” Dr Walsh said of the failed politician. “If you’ve had a good relationship with your doctor, and they’re recommending you to get the vaccine, I think that should probably should carry more weight

than a letter from a mining magnate billionaire. “Who cares what he has to say? “Do you listen to him when you make decisions about your health or are you guided by your doctor? “It’s a little disappointing to see Clive Palmer, who really has no authority on the subject, to be dissuading people from such an important issue. “It’s something that’s been politicised when it really shouldn’t be. “It’s a public health issue — it’s got nothing to do with politics.” Dr Walsh said there were potentially serious risks of an unvaccinated population if the Bondi outbreak snowballed into a high risk event like the Victorian second wave, adding there were only two ways for the country to open back up. Continued page 5

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