YouTube has banned a New South Wales politician’s maiden speech to Parliament after he blasted Australia’s draconian response to Covid-19.
Liberal Democrats John Ruddick told the NSW Parliament on Wednesday that while many want to move on from Covid, he doesn’t, calling instead for a Royal Commission into the government’s handling of the so-called “pandemic.”
“The Covid fatality rate in New South Wales was 0.13%, at the upper end of what we expect each winter. Maybe a little more. But to call Covid a pandemic was an insult to pandemics,” Ruddick said.
He continued: “The average age of a Covid fatality in Australia is higher than the average life expectancy. The New South Wales government locked citizens in quarantine just for being near a Covid-positive person.
“Many want to move on from Covid. I don’t. Elements in the media tell us there is another pandemic around the corner. ‘It’ll be worse than Covid.’ I’m sceptical, but if true, surely we need a Royal Commission into the last time a pandemic was declared so that we can learn.
“Sweden alone resisted the hysteria. Masks, lockdowns, and vaccines were recommended but not compelled. Sweden trusted its citizens. And Sweden has had Europe’s lowest increase in excess death over the past three years.”
Ruddick went on to slam what he called, “Vaccine extremism,” which saw citizens effectively placed under house arrest until they complied with vaccine mandates.
“On the 26th of July 2021, the Liberal Premier of New South Wales announced a two-week lockdown. Two weeks morphed into many months and a diabolical catch was added: We won’t let you out until you take multiple injections of not only a rushed vaccine but of an entirely new class of vaccine. Most relented, but everyone got Covid anyway.
“Last year, the New South Wales Health Department published weekly data showing the fewer vaccines you had, the less likely you went to hospital or ICU. The fatality rate was similar for the vaxxed and the unvaxxed.
“Since the vaccine rollout, there has been a 15-20% increase in excess deaths in nations like Australia who had the mass-mRNA injections. Is it the vaccine or is it the bitter hangover from locking people up for so long?
“We don’t know, but either way it’s almost certainly the result of poor governance and yet another reason for a Covid Royal Commission.”
YouTube removed the speech shortly after it was uploaded, citing a violation of “Community Guidelines.” Ruddick said he’s not certain which part prompted its removal, adding, “There was a smorgasbord of choices.”
The Liberal Democrats NSW official account said, “Never before in Australian history has a politician’s maiden speech to parliament been banned from YouTube.”
The party went on to note that not even Adolf Hitler’s speeches are banned from the video-sharing platform.
While we’d hotly disagree with some of the ideals espoused during the speech, particularly regarding the redefinition of marriage, it’s well worth a listen:
