Aprominent regional leader has called on the new State Government to immediately scrap its COVID-related State of Emergency as he claims it is affecting the mental health of many as well as the economy.

Long-serving Wattle Range Council elected member Dale Price has linked the two-year long emergency declaration with the suicide rate.

“I suspect that many suicides reflect the impact of lockdowns, sense of economic hopelessness, divisions within families caused by mandates and the unnecessary separation of loved ones caused by state border restrictions,” he said.

“The COVID virus and especially the omicron variant have not posed the threat promulgated by health authorities and the mainstream media.

“It is time to deal with COVID as a ‘normal’ disease and by ending the State of Emergency, it has been the State of Emergency response that has caused much pain and angst less so COVID.”

The Sorby Adams Ward representative has called on his nine fellow councillors and Mayor Des Noll to back his notice of motion when Wattle Range Council holds its April monthly meeting in Millicent tonight.

If passed, Wattle Range Council will write to new Premier Peter Malinauskas, Member for MacKillop Nick McBride and the 67 other parliamentarians requesting the cessation of the State Emergency Declaration and all associated COVID mandates including the vaccination mandates.

Cr Price moved a similar urgent notice of motion at the end of the March monthly meeting but Mayor Noll would not allow debate as he stated the councillors had not had the opportunity to consider it.

Accompanying tonight’s notice of motion, Cr Price has penned a rationale which runs to almost 650 words.

It will be considered after council hears from two unrelated delegations and considers other matters in an agenda which runs to 451 pages.

Cr Price retired in 2010 after 35 years as an educator in this region and is involved in his family’s sheep stud at Glencoe.

He is a one-time Liberal Party member and has used strong language to support his stance on COVID.

“In a country that prides itself on minimising discrimination, state and federal governments have systemically used the media, to implement a discriminatory program to force people to comply with mandatory vaccination,” he said.

“This violates a person’s choice in regard to their health. We have adopted euthanasia (the practice of ending the life of a patient to limit the patient’s suffering) with numerous safeguards that ultimately give the person the power to choose, but not so with COVID vaccinations.

“When making the decision not to get vaccinated, we have seen people lose their jobs, their ability to support themselves and the right to be treated as equals in a supposedly non-discriminatory society.”

According to Cr Price, loneliness has been a major outcome of the COVID State of Emergency inflicted on large parts of the population, especially the elderly.

“Given the opportunity to get vaccinated, I believe the vast majority of elderly Australians would have opted to have their family around them and take their chances with COVID rather than live in a depressive state of loneliness, let alone, die without the comfort of family and friends with them,” he said.

“Locally, I know of families torn apart by strongly held attitudes around vaccination mandates.

“This appears to be a direct outcome of divisive government (both state and federal) media programs.

“One question, which is worse, family division or a bout of COVID especially the omicron variant?”

Cr Price has accused the media in being complicit with governments regarding the reporting of COVID matters.

“Whereas there have been scant reports of adverse reactions to COVID vaccinations, while I have heard of a number in our Wattle Range Council area let alone across the nation,” he said.

“I suspect this has much to do with the threat to withdraw advertising funding from media outlets.

“Similar strategies appear to apply to medicos who have expressed alternate views regarding COVID vaccinations.

“The negative impact of the State of Emergency on business and the accumulated long term national debt are issues that have impacted local, state and nationally based businesses.

“Future generations have been mortgaged to pay down the debt.”