Numerous so-called “anti-vax” opinions were aired when Wattle Range Council debated the need for compulsory COVID vaccinations last week.

The spirited debate lasted almost 30 minutes and was part of its marathon April monthly meeting in Millicent on Tuesday night.

Councillor Dale Price put forward a notice of motion calling on the State Government to end all such COVID vaccination mandates as well as the COVID State of Emergency which has lasted for over two years.

Mayor Des Noll and the majority of the councillors present took part in the debate. When put to a vote, Cr Price’s motion was lost 3 votes to 5.

Ahead of the meeting, Cr Price had penned a 650-word rationale for his motion which formed part of the agenda.

He repeated a number of these assertions in opening and closing the debate.

The Sorby Adams ward representative was highly critical of compulsory COVID vaccinations and pointed to Thalidomide which had initially been viewed in the 1960s as a wonder drug.

In the opinion of Cr Price, some doctors had been wary of being de-registered if they granted exemptions for COVID vaccinations.

Cr Price said the distinction should be made in the statistics between people who died of COVID and those who died with COVID.

He named a number of media outlets in the South East region who he claimed did not report adverse reactions to COVID vaccinations as they were reliant on advertising from State and Federal Governments.

“Why would they rattle the cages?” Cr Price said.

He claimed that one school in Mount Gambier was short of 26 teachers.

“The mandates are unfair and not part of the Australian psyche,” he said.

His motion was seconded by his fellow Sorby Adams ward representative Deb Agnew.

“This is about freedom of choice … we have lost our way if we are accepting bullying and coercion,” Cr Agnew said.

A contrary view was expressed by Cr John Drew who quoted from Federal Government figures which showed COVID had a lower death rate in Australia than in the United Kingdom or the USA.

“I believe in mandates for the safety of the community and they have saved lives in Australia,” Cr Drew said.

“The data is quite clear and the motion is not appropriate.”

Mayor Noll also told of his discomfort with the motion and said Wattle Range Council was not made up of health professionals.

“This is way out of our scope,” Mayr Noll said.

Deputy Mayor Cr Moira Neagle spoke against the motion and said how the COVID virus had the potential to impact on a vulnerable family member in poor health.

“We must act for the greater good,” Cr Neagle said.

The outcome of the motion was published that night on the Facebook page of The SE Voice and has since attracted dozens of comments from all sides of the debate.