You and I have every right to be angry and disgusted with the Australian government.

The mRNA platform must be outlawed. The money paid out to Moderna and Pfizer reclaimed and the vaccine injured treated and compensated. There are far superior ways of managing epidemics.

It’s Your Money they are wasting and the government tells you the product is free.

The Australian government has committed to a $2 billion onshore manufacturing deal with Moderna, established during the Morrison administration, which exempts Moderna's mRNA vaccines from assessment by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). This exemption bypasses Australia's traditional check-and-balance system that evaluates vaccine efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

The deal guarantees government purchases of locally produced Moderna vaccines for at least a decade, manufactured at a Melbourne plant opened recently. Critics, including CSL (a rival manufacturer) and medical experts, argue the exemption risks creating a dual regulatory system, undermining trust in national vaccine programs, and inflating taxpayer costs. The Australian National Audit Office is investigating the agreement, and concerns are mounting about the lack of transparency and potential erosion of Australia’s rigorous pharmaceutical evaluation processes.

The government defends the deal as a strategic measure for future pandemic preparedness, while critics emphasize the need for fairness, transparency, and adherence to robust regulatory standards.

Your government doesn’t care. Politicians are serving Big Pharma . Not you.

1. Waste of Taxpayer Money

The deal raises concerns about fiscal responsibility. Guaranteeing the purchase of Moderna vaccines without comparative cost-benefit analyses risks overspending taxpayer money on potentially less effective or overpriced products. The PBAC’s evaluation process ensures the best return on investment in public health. By circumventing this process, the government appears to prioritize corporate interests over fiscal prudence, undermining public trust in health spending.

2. Government's Secretive Deals

The lack of transparency in the agreement, with key terms marked as "commercial-in-confidence," signals a troubling trend of secretive decision-making. This approach sidelines public accountability and robust debate, fostering perceptions of cronyism. Deals of this magnitude and public health significance should be subject to open scrutiny, especially when they bind successive governments for a decade. Such opacity weakens democratic oversight and risks undermining public trust in government institutions.

3. Lack of Properly Controlled Studies

Exempting Moderna's vaccines from PBAC's rigorous evaluation process undermines Australia’s reputation for high pharmaceutical standards. The PBAC process is designed to assess clinical effectiveness, safety, and economic viability in comparison to alternative products. Without these studies and transparent documentation of adverse effects, the decision appears reckless, particularly given ongoing debates about the long-term safety and efficacy of mRNA technologies. The failure to document and publicise serious adverse reactions further compounds concerns, suggesting that public health priorities may be secondary to commercial interests.

I wish to highlight the systemic issues in public health governance, including fiscal mismanagement, eroded transparency, and diminished scientific rigour. These trends continue to threaten and compromise both public health outcomes, perpetuate distrust in government and further induce fears of hospital and medical care in the community.

Ian Brighthope

Vaccine hesitancy and mRNA safety concerns cast shadow over multi-billion dollar Moderna factory opening, Victoria