Australian Government begins fining parents who don't vaccinate their kids

Sounds like you have no idea what the flu actually is.

If the government thinks it is in your best interest, and you rely on hand outs from the government, then you play by their rules. If you earn your own money, do what you like, or dont do what you dont like.

It still amazes me that some mothers around the world still take the word of a crazy american celebrity as fact.I bet they would not see a problem with what they are doing until their child is diagnosed with TB and then they would complain the hospital did not do enough

Vaccines do work. Its parents being fed misinformation by fear mongers based on something that has been disproven years ago.Vaccines dont cause autism. Vaccines work. Vaccines arent big pharma or nanny state.Vaccines are an important part of keeping diseases like measles, whooping cough, polio etc, etc, etc away or irradicating some diseases altogether.Some parents have bought into the liars and fear mongers and think theyre keeping their children safer by not vaccinating them. Sad thing is, if we keep going down the anti-vaccine road, well experience a lot of preventable deaths.

Well done Australia! It is time we take a similar stand against scaremongers who peddle nonsense and misinformation. Anti-vaxxers endanger not only their own children but also children who cannot be vaccinated due to allergies and other medical conditions.

Or a vaccine...

There is only one absolute certainty in this debate. When you choose not to have your children vaccinated or to be vaccinated yourself you are playing russian roulette with your health (and in some extreme cases your life) and theirs. Hindsight is not a second chance.

If antivaxxer parents wont get their kids vaxxed, it makes sense that they pay more for the extra burden they create on the health system.Kind of like a tax on cigarettes.

I have seen, firsthand, the effects that an unvaccinated child can have in the immunocompromised; it can be devastating. Kudus to the Aussie government (thatâ's not a phrase I say often!); would like to see something like that implemented here too.

Choosing not to vaccinate your children is not only foolish but selfish. Foolish because the damage that can be done if a child suffers a severe bout of measles or whooping cough or polio is heartbreaking. I have a friend whose young daughter went blind after getting measles as a 12-month-old baby (they come from a third world country where vaccinations are not available). Because of vaccinations, people simply dont see the disabilities and, yes, death that these diseases cause. They think of them as just a mild illness like a cold or runny nose. Selfish because they can only take their anti-vaccist position by relying on other people to take the so-called risk of vaccination for them. Those who vaccinate their children contribute to the herd immunity and anti-vaccists children benefit from this very same herd immunity. Talk about freeloading!

Or what the vaccinations are actually for.

23% reckon the Govt should stay out of parenting decisions? You morons, if youd just get your damn kids vaccinated the Govt wouldnt need to intervene in your crappy parenting decisions!

Not full of toxins and they dont cause autism.Try reading proper research instead of the horde of hysterical conspiracy sites.

My partner is immuno suppressed. if someone gives her the flu it could kill her, let alone other preventable diseases.

Ever seen a small baby suffering from whooping cough that could have been prevented if either the baby or friendâ's baby had been vaccinated. Now thatâ's scary and heart wrenching!

Hey Pedroadi, vaccines arent just for the Flu, vaccines also prevent (according to the Health.gov.au website)diphtheriatetanuspertussis (whooping cough)poliomyelitis (polio)measlesmumpsrubellahaemophilus influenzae type b infectionshepatitis Binfluenzapneumococcal infectionscholerahepatitis Ameningococcal diseaseplaguerabiesbatlyssa virusyellow feverJapanese encephalitisQ fevertuberculosistyphoidvaricella-zoster (chickenpox)

If you want to find out about anti-vaxxer Joseph Mercola, check the Quackwatch website. He has had various run ins with the FDA over his 0 claims about the supplements and other stuff he has made his fortune selling.

Third world countries have a great uptake percentage when vaccines are made available, because they have not forgotten the effects of the spread of preventable illness like westerners have. Itâ's great to be a privileged white person who has been so lucky to benefit from freely available vaccination right?! Measles can turn to encephalitis which kills. Pertussis can easily kill an infant (not to mention causing horrendous suffering). Please educate yourself.

Nice work Australia. The anti-vax movement are incredible dangerous and stubborn people who will never admit they are wrong. Time they went to see a real medical practitioner instead of Dr Youtube.

I support vaccines for children. Myself and my kids have had all the shots we are supposed to have. But no government should be able to force or coerce you to put any drugs into your or your childs body, or penalize you for not doing it. Its a bigger picture thing... Will the powers that be decide in future years that women must have folic acid while pregnant? Will flu shots become compulsory? What would the penalties be? Everybody should be able to choose what they introduce into their bodies. The government owns no part of my body so has no say in how I maintain it. I am happy to consent for medical procedures if needed, BECAUSE its my choice, and I have to option to decline. Its frightening to imagine a time when the government might have more say over your body then you do.