Vax exemptions scam

In my last newsletter from two weeks ago, I wrote about the vaccine exemptions that anti-vaxxers wanted to use. They intended to use the wording of section 7A of the COVID response act to exempt themselves from the requirements to be vaccinated for work in professions where the vaccination has been mandated - teaching, healthcare, etc.

The wording of the section allowed for “suitably qualified health professionals” to issue exemptions to vaccination.

Last week, the infamous bunch at Voices for Freedom set up an event in Palmerston North at Newbury Hall where people could turn up and, for $10 (or $20 for a family), be issued with a vaccine exemption certificate. The event was eventually cancelled and people left empty-handed.

Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, last week commented about the vaccine exemptions being handed out:

“If someone is offering to sell you an exemption or otherwise suggesting that you could pay a fee for the service of getting an exemption, they are trying to rip you off.”

The government has since removed section 7A from the legislation and tightened things up around exemptions, requiring that these will need to be approved by the Ministry of Health.

This has put Voices for Freedom into a bit of a flurry, urgently setting up a Saturday night “CRITICAL WEBINAR 8pm for all affected by “no jab, no job” + exemptions”.

Sue Grey was in court a couple of weeks ago, as I previously reported, representing aviation security workers from Christchurch who had lost their jobs after refusing to get the COVID vaccine.

Well Sue Grey is now the subject of a format complaint to the law society. There have been multiple informal complaints in the past - I've written one myself - but this one is being taken seriously. It was organised by FACT Aotearoa and involved doctors and other lawyers.

You can read the text of the letter to the Law Society here: (PDF link)

Sue had until 5th November (this past Friday) to respond. It will be interesting to see what transpires, but the fact that other lawyers were involved should make the case fairly strongly.