Dr Nick Coatsworth issues an urgent warning over Albanese’s government’s proposed law

One of Australia’s leading doctors has called on Australians to actively oppose the Albanian government’s proposed disinformation laws, which he says could have been harmful during the Covid pandemic.

Dr Nick Coatsworth, who served as the country’s deputy chief medical officer during the pandemic, feared the Misinformation and Disinformation Act would be used as a “weapon” to stifle debate.

He noted that the legislation was partly intended to combat the spread of “misinformation” that was “damaging public health in Australia, including the effectiveness of preventive health measures”.

However, he called this “astonishing” after the Covid pandemic, as the medical community and the general public became “acutely aware” of the changing “facts” as the virus became better understood.

This means the new laws could label “legitimate concerns” about public health policy as “disinformation,” according to the government’s “scientific orthodoxy of the moment.”

“Disinformation causes harm,” Dr Coatsworth said. This bill must be defeated in its entirety.

‘Using misinformation as a weapon to stifle debate causes even greater damage.

“This bill does the latter.”

Dr Coatsworth said he “shares the government’s deep concerns about the damaging effects of social media on community trust and cohesion”.

“But disinformation is such a common accusation these days that I can’t see how the law could work in practice,” he said.

According to Dr Coatsworth, while some things online are ‘demonstrably wrong’, the ‘only solution is to teach the community at an early age what they (inaccuracies) are and how social media manipulates debate’.

“Let’s teach our children how to think critically and how to ask questions and debate, not how to dismiss or reject the opinions or ideas of others by arbitrarily accusing them of misinformation,” he explained.

‘I would strongly encourage Australians to do something they may never have done before: submit to the Senate inquiry.

“Even if it is just a short paragraph expressing deep concern about the meaning of this bill.”

Dr Coatsworth has previously admitted that Australian governments and health officials have lost public trust and goodwill over their handling of Covid.

In February, he told Sydney radio station 2GB that the draconian measures to contain the virus were taking too long and were causing people to disengage and feel resentful.

In a 10-page document submitted in February to a special inquiry into Australia’s response to Covid, Dr Coatsworth admitted imposing vaccination mandates was wrong.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland insists the new laws will not restrict freedom of expression

“We didn’t do it wrong in terms of promoting the vaccines, but in terms of the obligations, yes, I think we did it wrong,” he said.

“And I think you can say that hindsight is clear. But hindsight is foresight. And if we have another pandemic, we have to think long and hard about whether the vaccination requirement is justified.”

Under the new laws, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), a beefed-up regulator, can order social media companies to take tougher action against repeated misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.

If companies fail to do so, they risk a series of sanctions and huge fines, which could even mean losing five percent of their global turnover.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland denies the laws would restrict freedom of expression.

“We’ve been clear as a government that we need to seek strong advice on this, consult widely and make sure it’s squarely within what we have under international law so that freedom of expression is not curtailed,” she told the ABC earlier this month.

David Coleman, shadow communications minister, has accused the government of trying to force the laws through parliament after an earlier version of them was withdrawn last year following significant public opposition.

“How are people supposed to respond to this complicated law in just a week?” Coleman told The Daily Telegraph.

‘Labor wants to push this legislation through and try to avoid the huge backlash we saw last time.’