The Northern Territory Chief Minister has said you are an “anti-vaxxer” if you “give comfort to or support” anybody opposed to vaccine mandates.

During a recent press conference that reflected the wide-eyed madness levels of Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, Michael Gunner said anyone who argues against mandated vaccinations will be considered as an “anti-vaxxer,” regardless of their personal vaccination status.

If you are anti-mandate, you are absolutely anti-vax. I don’t care what your personal vaccination status is.

If you support, champion, give a green light, give comfort to, support anybody who argues against the vaccine, you are an anti-vaxxer. Absolutely. Your personal vaccination status is utterly irrelevant.

If you campaign against the mandate, if you campaign against people being vaccinated in vulnerable settings, teachers in classrooms, I’ll be really clear, at that point in time, people are actually supporting the idea of a teacher being unvaccinated in a remote community classroom. With kids who cannot be vaccinated.

I reject that utterly, and I still reject it. And if you are out there in any way shape or form campaigning against this mandate you are absolutely anti-vax.

If you say pro-persuasion, stuff it. Shove it! We are absolutely going to make sure as many Territorians as possible are vaccinated, that is our best protection against this thing.

And if you look at the Doherty modelling that has only come out since, that says if you double-dosed 80 in remote communities, five and up, I think you’ll see our vaccine mandate is absolutely crucial to protect life, particularly Aboriginal life. And I will never back away from supporting vaccines and anyone out there who comes for the mandate, you are anti-vax.

Gunner made the comments following backlash after the territory in October announced that the government issued a legal direction requiring workers in all public-faced roles to receive the COVID vaccine or else face a $5,000 fine.

Gunner said at the time that any worker interacting with the public “must be vaccinated,” because they are “frontline workers in our economy.”

Exemptions will be “extremely narrow,” the Chief Minister said. Adding, “simply not wanting the vaccine is not enough.”