Anti-vaxxers have enraged the Queensland premier after screening a film about their beliefs at a Gold Coast school allegedly under the pretence of holding a seminar about organic vegetables.
Annastacia Palaszczuk is demanding answers as to how the documentary came to be shown at Miami State School on Tuesday night after organisers told school officials they were running a seminar on organic vegetables.
She said the organisation made "misrepresentations" to the school, and she would be speaking with Education Minister Kate Jones on Wednesday to get to the bottom of the matter.
"My initial advice is there has been some misrepresentation from that organisation to the school in question where they conveyed to the principal that they were to be conveying information about organic produce," the premier told reporters on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
"I don't think they were very clear in their purpose and I don't think they should have been allowed to present in such a manner."
The organisers of the film have previously gone to extreme lengths to keep the location of screenings a secret in an effort to keep them from being shut down, amid strong opposition to the film from Australian health professionals.
The film claims to expose a "link" between vaccinations and autism, although it claims it isn't anti-vaccinations.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said he was "concerned" the film had been shown at a school, and denounced its content.
"Anyone who knows the history of vaccination, anyone who saw what happened in the '50s with polio would realise the huge public health benefits that widespread vaccination has delivered," Mr Nicholls said.
"I simply urge everyone to ignore this quackery and pseudoscience."
Share
