Mark McGowan shoots down hopes of a 'mandate free' city

Author: Luke Commins

It’s a hot, humid January day in Fremantle. Specifically, Walyalup Koort, formerly King’s Square in the city centre. The gathered crowd occupies the entire space. The music on the loudspeaker is playing the anthems of yesteryear while live artists perform favourite songs and original hip hop and rap. Families are looking out for their kids either swarming the playground or sitting for face painting. The presence of many teenagers and young adults gives the whole event a festive vibe reminiscent of university and youth gatherings in the 60s.

Yet despite the atmosphere, the goal of the organisers and the intention of the rally is very familiar to most West Australians. These people don’t want to be forced to get vaccinated with the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. Specific to this rally, the attendees wanted the Fremantle City Council to declare the city a mandate free zone, allowing anyone to enter restaurants, businesses, and events regardless of vaccination status.

At this point you may wonder why I’m writing about this event specifically? Why should you keep reading? After all, it has become very common for the organisers and attendees of such rallies to be labelled simply as anti-vaxxers, rightly or wrongly. People who refuse to follow the rules that everyone else has too. Even at the time of writing, the double dose vaccine rate in WA sits at roughly 89.9%. So isn’t this discussion sorted?
Those were thoughts I had as I made my way through the streets of Fremantle that afternoon. In full disclosure, I’ve had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine and plan to have my booster in the future. So, would I really be convinced or find anything interesting in what my peers at this event would say?

For now, I’ll still be getting my booster. But what was surprising, or perhaps what shouldn’t have been so surprising, was that my peers weren’t trying to overthrow the state government, bring down the border or lob threats at the Premier. Rather, they were there because they were worried and concerned about what the future would look like for them. It’s a concern that many young Aussies are pretty familiar with.
Further discussion with these young attendees revealed that they didn’t oppose all vaccines, despite commonly being called anti-vaxxers. When I asked them for their stance, the response was nearly unanimously in favour. In school, they had their vaccines for whooping cough, Hepatitis, and other diseases. Many had and would get a flu shot if they felt they needed it.

So, if my peers at this rally had no animosity towards vaccines, why were they there? The common thread was that they felt that the vaccine had been rushed into production, rather than following the same process or time frame that other vaccines undergo for testing and approval. And since they had such concerns about the safety of the vaccine, they felt they shouldn’t be mandated by their state government to get one.

The health advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, thoroughly tested and scientifically verified in their effectiveness. When I enquired further, everyone I asked said that, while they did not feel safe taking the current vaccine, due to time frame of their production, they would be willing to take a vaccine developed in a few years.

Concerns about the safety or health effects of the vaccine were not and is not unique to young or old opponents of WA mandates. But after having conversations with the younger attendees, it became apparent that their concerns for mandate consequences was very different to more vocal opponents. The reasons given for opposing mandates spoken from the from the soap box that day included rampant corporatism, a move towards a communist state, the introduction of tyranny, religious scripture, and many others. What set the young adult attendees apart was how very human and personal their viewpoint was.

Some said they felt afraid that they’d be dehumanised or disregarded by their friends and family. Others didn’t want to lose the chance to hang out socially with their mates or have their friendships torn apart because of the stance they had taken. Others had lost jobs and were desperate for work. None of them mentioned anything about tyranny, oppression or lost individual rights. In the simplest terms, they were concerned they couldn’t live the same lives or have the same experiences as their mates.
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At the end of the day, the Fremantle Council voted down the proposal. The next evening when I asked, Premier Mark McGowan quite rightly said that the Fremantle Council does not have the authority revoke vaccine mandates in the city, rendering the result a mostly moot point.

However, I don’t believe that the experience and the discussions I had were worthless. I think that among the younger attendees was a more empathetic message for the government and the rest of Western Australia.

Whether you agree with their concerns or not, I think among young adults and teens, of both perspectives, have the chance for a more civil and productive dialogue going forward. And isn’t that better than the unsuccessful shouting matches we’ve become so used too?

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Author: Luke Commins is a Youth Jam journalist