Australians, all 55,697 of us who put our names to Petition EN048, have received half-truths and outdated information from Mark Butler, the Minister for Health.

Titled Australia rejects amendments to the 75th WHA (World Health Assembly) / WHO (World Health Organisation) International Health Regulations (IHR), the petition addresses the amendments that tighten the timeframes for the adoption of future alterations to the IHR. The time for rejection of them ended on Friday, December 1. New Zealand, Estonia, and Slovakia have already spoken up.

The cookie-cutter response from the Minister’s Office was dated October 6, but was received via email on November 13, two months after the guidelines for a response. We have placed our reply, with the Minister’s letter attached, as an open letter on our website here: https://australiaexitsthewho.com/#MOH-letter

The response would be laughable if it was not so dangerous to the future of Australia’s health independence. The main points of contention are as follows.

The Minister’s letter states:

‘This includes Article 59 of the IHR, which was agreed by WHO Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2022. As part of its process in scrutinising proposed treaties, JSCOT undertakes further consultation by inviting submissions from stakeholders and members of the public.’

This is not correct. As far as we are aware, JSCOT held no consultation and invited no submissions from stakeholders or members of the public. In fact, the four members on JSCOT we have conferred with were not even aware of the Article 59 IHR amendments, or that they had reported on them.

JSCOT’s review of the Article 59 IHRA amendments is buried in JSCOT’s Report 210 headed Timor-Leste Cooperation in the Field of Defence and the Status of Visiting Forces. Another explanation may be that there was insufficient time for JSCOT to seek public consultation and stakeholder submissions given the International Strategies Branch sat on the Article 59 IHR amendments for 13 months before finally supplying them to JSCT in June 2023.

The Minister’s letter states:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is, and remains, a Member State-led organisation.

While Member States have a representative at the WHO, that is in name only. Leadership is called into question when considered against the WHO’s funding. Less than 20 per cent of the WHO’s funding comes from assessed contributions from Member States. The remainder of the WHO’s funding comes from voluntary contributions, through private public partnerships.

The Minister’s letter states:

The WHO has no legal authority to force countries to accept any of its recommendations and can only provide aid and assistance at Member States’ requests.

This may be the case under the 2005 International Health Regulations, to which Australia is bound without reservation. However, the current version of the 307 Proposed Amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations seeks to grant the WHO binding authority regarding standing recommendations – see Article 1.

While the Health Minister and his department are well aware of the coming 307 amendments, the JSCOT Committee, tasked with approving the first round, were not. These amendments include removing ‘with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons’ – see Article 3, alongside mandating medical treatments, surveillance, data transfer, and unspecified costs to finance ‘pandemic preparedness’. These costs are additional to the $30 billion a year requested by the UN PPPR Manifesto – or more than 5 times the WHO’s current funding.

Assuming there is no way to reject these timeframe amendments, if the 307 amendments are passed at the WHA in May 2024, the JSCOT Committee will have 10 months to review, assess the implications of the 307 amendments, including their impact on our legislation and constitution, invite public consultation and make recommendations. If they are not referred to JSCOT for 13 months this time it will be too late. And if not actively rejected, they will apply to Australia under international law.

Several concerned groups put together The People’s Letter that was sent to the WHO in Geneva before Friday, the 1 December deadline.

We welcome comment from all Australians that do not believe any unelected, overseas bureaucrats with diplomatic immunity should be in control of Australia – in the event of a ‘perceived pandemic’, that they can declare without evidence, or at any other time.

Anyone that would like to send correspondence to their MPs, State Senators and the JSCOT Committee can also do so via this page: https://mysaymatters.com.au/.