A new report reveals that Australian authorities utterly failed to prioritize human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving lasting consequences and validating the warnings expressed by Caldron Pool and the authors of the Ezekiel Declaration.

According to Sky News Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report, titled Collateral Damage, surveyed over 5,000 Australians and found that the government’s actions exacerbated avoidable “harms” due to a glaring lack of compassion.

“In order to protect those who were most vulnerable, various restrictions were placed on the rights and freedom of all individuals,” the report states.

Moreover, the report critiques remote learning for widening the gap for disadvantaged students lacking adequate technology or stable environments.

Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay noted the significant cost of the government’s response, highlighting “devastating stories of severe economic hardship, families unable to say goodbye to loved ones, women trapped in violent households, and communities left isolated due to blanket policies.”

Well, who’d have thought? So, rather than standing alongside Caldron Pool, the Ezekiel Declaration and other voices in the wilderness—as we laboured to be a voice for the vulnerable—many of our critics mocked, maligned, and demonized us. But, as it turns out, we were right about everything and our critics were wrong. Very wrong.

This isn't news to the @caldronpool team or the CCP-19 non-compliant.

The best we can hope for here is a greater awakening about how big gov. turned 2-weeks to flatten into totalitarianism.

Here are over 844 CP articles published since early 2020: https://t.co/6nCPsuJqNB https://t.co/7dWIzFIGKa

— Rod Lampard (@rod_lampard) March 11, 2025

Tim Grant, co-author of the Ezekiel Declaration—a 2021 open letter to the Australian Prime Minister opposing vaccine passports for fostering a divided society, exacerbating mental health issues, coercing consciences, lacking logical justification, and violating church autonomy—stated that many findings of the report were predictable and unsurprising.

“There were numerous voices endeavouring to caution the government in regard to sweeping mandates that disregarded the need to maintain matters of conscience. For example, in regards to immunisation, the report concludes, ‘Broad-based mandates run the risk of failing to consider individual circumstances and hence opens up the possibility of discrimination. More should be done to prevent feelings of coercion, as this erodes government trust and has ramifications for future emergency response.’

“The Ezekiel Declaration was written in an effort to prevent this very outcome. But instead of being considered, it was ignored by the Morrison government and criticised by various Christian publications and denominations,” he said.

“One positive outcome of our declaration was that it gave hope to thousands of ordinary Christians, knowing that there were pastors who were fighting to maintain our divine right of conscience. This event reminds us that it is costly to be right too soon. The position of many non-conformist Christians was simple: ‘…not to quarrel over opinions’ (Romans 14:1).

“Regrettably, many people who confessed Christ, refused to acknowledge that a brother or sister might have a different opinion, and in so doing, set themselves up as lords over the conscience of others,” Grant added.

The sad fact is that many were far quicker to condemn the hesitant in the name of Christ, than acknowledge any of their own undeniable wrongs. While they were quick to portray the vaccines as a divine gift, those who chose caution were labelled selfish, unloving, and sinful.

Numerous articles were hastily written demanding compliance with the mandates at virtually every point. The authors should be ashamed. Not only for what they wrote but for continually refusing to acknowledge any wrong. But the fact that so few pastors publicly challenged this type of manipulative rhetoric for fear of damaging their own “reputation” should not be overlooked either. We should not have been the only ones calling it out.

Leaders who turned a blind eye to this blatant coercion, prioritizing their reputations over their congregations, have betrayed their role as shepherds. Their silence is a stain on the church, as they allowed spiritual blackmail to flourish under the guise of compliance with God’s will.

As such, many were misled into believing that not receiving the vaccine was tantamount to sinning against God. Many others who decided not to comply for their own personal reasons have been left churchless and dejected. Thankfully, through Caldron Pool, we have been able to help countless individuals find new, faithful church families.

But the church’s overall ongoing silence regarding the “mistakes” made during COVID-19 only suggests they are waiting for the culture to take the lead. They’re waiting for the world to dictate what’s right and necessary instead of acting as the moral leaders they are called to be. It’s time to hold accountable those who wielded their influence to coerce and manipulate the vulnerable, ensuring that such abuses of power are neither forgotten nor repeated.