Brisbane MPs call on APN Outdoor to remove anti-vaccination billboard
Brisbane state MPs, Bart Mellish and Stirling Hinchliffe, have asked APN Outdoor, Ad Standards and the federal minister for communications to remove a billboard which warns people against child vaccination.
The billboard features a young child standing next to the words “vaccinated or unvaccinated, who is healthier?” with the Australian Vaccination-risks Network website directly below.
Posting to Facebook, Mellish, the state member for Aspley, and Hinchliffe, who represents the seat of Sandgate, pushed the message that “everyone is entitled to their own opinion but you’re not entitled to your own facts”.
Standing outside the billboard, Mellish says: “This billboard has got to go”.
“We are calling on APN and all the relevant authorities to do whatever they can to get this billboard down, we have heard from the community and that’s what we want to see happen.”
APN Outdoor’s anti-vaccination billboard received backlash from the community and parliament members as the advertisement came four months after the outdoor company decided not to run Aboriginal Victoria’s Deadly Questions campaign.
A spokesperson from APN Outdoor, said in a statement to Mumbrella: “The Outdoor Media Association advised APN Outdoor that the advertisement was unlikely to breach any of the sections of the AANA Code of Ethics.”
When the billboard was first released APN Outdoor said in a statement to Mumbrella: “The ad in question is running on one billboard. The Outdoor Media Association advised us there were no issues with the ad.”
The APN Outdoor billboard
I’m pretty sure that Federal legislation says that anything that is, or may become an election issue, must have an authorisation. I would suggest that their motivation for this campaign is to create a movement for legislative changes around vaccination, and therefore must be authorised. APN would also liable I think.
Unfortunately not, James. The AEC regulations around authorisations on ads pertain only to registered political parties (and the AVN is not one, thank god). The ad is a disgrace, but unfortunately there is no law against running it. The worst thing is, this “rag” continues to give the AVN free advertising by running the same story.
What happened to free speech in this country? Apparently we are now living in a country that dose not allow it. If people are not allowed to put forward a view point then we living in a communist country now. What a joke.
Thank Michael. Do you know why organisations like the Australian Bankers Association put Autho tags on their ads?
Pretending facts don’t exist is not a viewpoint.
I draw the line at free speech which has the consequences of dead babies. The information presented by AVN is misleading medical advice and should be banned.
I think you mean fascist.
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from its consequences
Your post shows how very little you have researched this subject. Maybe have a read of the study of which the billboard is referring to and the numerous studies also done around the world on the subject of vaccinations.
They may be an “associated entiry” of a registered political party (I’ve never assessed them, so don’t know). If they aren’t, then they don’t have to.
So going by that you don’t believe in the freedom of putting forward a study done that shows a different view to your own? I find it just as deeply disturbing all the baby’s who have died as a consequence of having a vaccination done.
What specific bill are you referring to? Australia does not have an explicit “First Amendment” for protection of freedom of speech in our Constitution. We’re not in America.
Equally, if you’re referring to the implied political position of free speech, that does not equate to freedom of consequence.
Ok Allen go ahead and put forward this dissenting study if it exists (not one of the ones that have already been proven to have results that were at best fudged, and at worst completely fabricated)
A differing view that has no basis in fact isn’t a differing view, it’s a lie.
Thanks
The AVN billboard at Carseldine, Qld, simply asks a question. Please leave it in place. I support freedom of speech in Australia.
Free speech???
Free speech??? So many billboards I don’t agree with … I may not agree with this one either but ..Australia= free speech …so just leave it alone.
Stu clearly your view is one of which would not be changed even if the evidence was in front of you. For the people out there who would be interested in having a read the study and results can be found in the two below links
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057555/
https://www.kiggs-studie.de/english/home.html
Totally with you Jan.