Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced Australians will soon be able to access proof of vaccination certificates through the Medicare app.
In his latest press conference, Morrison said the certificates are already present within the Service Australia system, but in July, citizens will be granted access to their proof of vaccination status “through the Medicare app and in the form of a digital wallet.”
This tool, Morrison said, can be used by states and territories that are imposing restrictions on people’s ability to travel.
Independent MP Craig Kelly responded to the announcement on Twitter, saying, “War has been declared.”
“A ‘vaccine certificate’ is just another name for a vaccine passport,” Kelly said. “Time to man the barricades. My ‘No Domestic Vaccine Passport Bill’ would prevent this.”
War has been declared.
— Craig Kelly MP (@CraigKellyMP) June 4, 2021
A ‘vaccine certificate’ is just another name for a vaccine passport.
Time to man the barricades. My ‘No Domestic Vaccine Passport Bill’ would prevent this. https://t.co/9JYf3U1oww pic.twitter.com/wE7vBxRdMY
In April, Kelly told Caldron Pool’s Rod Lampard that he’s not opposed to a reliable COVID vaccine, but is opposed to the idea of vaccine passports, stating, “we fought against this kind of thing;” it’s the stuff of old Eastern European Soviet Bloc, North Korea, and China.
“We’re with you Craig,” One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts tweeted in response.
One Nation has also opposed the Prime Minister’s move to introduce a vaccine passport for interstate travel, with party leader Pauline Hanson creating an online petition in opposition and urging Australians not to accept “dictatorship.”
“Please don’t sit back and accept this dictatorship, because that’s what it is,” Ms Hanson said. “We have rights and under the Constitution, they have no right to stop any person being able to move across borders freely.”
