On the afternoon of January 10 2018, the ferociously anti-vaccination pressure group the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network – run by president Tasha David and past-president Meryl Dorey – compared bereaved parent Catherine Hughes – a public health hero lauded in our federal parliament who is also the 2016 Western Australia Young Australian of the Year – to Nazis. One AVN page member also referred to Ms Hughes as a “dumb mole”:
Later in the afternoon, the AVN shared a fundraising campaign – itself started by anti-vaccination activist Tamara Rattray, with a target of $300,000 – in which the costs of “legal fees” are sought for being unrepentant anti-vaccination chiropractor Simon Floreani, who is apparently the target of alleged “Nazis ruling Australia right now.” Floreani himself is a current or former member of the AVN:
Floreani had previously been suspended and, then, had the suspension lifted in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. From my previous post on Floreani (note: more Nazi references)
Renowned and unapologetic anti-vaccination chiropractor Simon Floreani – once the president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia – has been let off, once again.
Floreani – who has regularly thumbed his nose at regulators with his anti-vaccination activities, for which he was previously cautioned by AHPRA; who recently allowed his business to be used by the antivax pressure group the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network, to show the anti-vaccination movie, Vaxxed; who has also bragged about sneaking into a hospital, using a fake identity, to treat a spinal patient; who also referred a patient to a fake gynaecologist; and whose supporters recently compared themselves to Jews during The Holocaust – continues to laugh at the regulators.
New conditions have appeared on Floreani’s chiropractic registration, noting that his suspension now appears to be over…
In her GoFundMe blurb, Rattray states that Floreani had given assurances that he would cease his unprofessional conduct (full text of GoFundMe page, below):
All of this means further significant cost to the Floreani family of perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, which could easily be avoided if the regulator is willing accept Dr Simon’s reassurances (which he gave under oath in the legal proceedings) that he will abide by the guidelines and statements that govern him as a health professional, instead of forcing him to challenge its decisions in extremely expensive legal battles.
One can understand the regulator’s alleged reservations in believing Mr Floreani’s verbal assurances, given his wife’s promises, declaring the opposite, in 2013:
But high-profile chiropractors say they will continue providing information about both sides of the vaccination argument.
Chiropractor and author Jennifer Barham-Floreani says it will not stop her colleagues from giving patients advice.
“Chiropractors will certainly be working towards making sure that the information that they convey to parents is the latest, up-to-date information that presents both sides of the vaccination debate,” she said.
Watch this space for more Nazis.
If you think the fundraising for Floreani’s legal fees is in breach of GoFundMe’s Terms of Service, you can tell them about it, here:
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Floreani GoFundMe fundraiser full text:
Dr Simon Floreani’s Legal Fees
I have started this Go Fund Me page to help support one of the most dedicated and passionate health practitioners I’ve come to know and depend upon for my family’s health, Dr Simon Floreani.
Dr Simon recently had his chiropractic registration suspended under the ‘immediate action’ laws that apply to health practitioners, even though the two events on which the suspension was based took place nearly a year beforehand, and even though there was no complaint by any of Dr Simon’s patients that he had caused harm to any person. The two events were:
1. In October 2016, Dr Simon was interviewed online by an American chiropractor for a Californian conference and in that wide-ranging interview there was a mention by the interviewer of the Australian Government’s mandatory vaccination changes. Dr Simon made some comments in response that were considered by the regulator to be anti-vaccination in nature.
2. In December 2016, Dr Simon allowed his practices premises to be used for the screening of a film ‘Vaxxed’ which neither he nor any of his staff attended. The regulator considers this film to be anti-vaccination in nature.
The regulator notified Dr Simon in late December 2016 of its concerns about these two events, and reminded Dr Simon of the statements and guidelines it had issued which prohibit chiropractors from displaying, promoting or providing materials, information or advice which is anti-vaccination in nature, or from making public statements discouraging vaccination. From that point on, Dr Simon made no further public comments about vaccination and did not provide any patients with anti-vaccination material. He also tried to have the interview taken down from YouTube but has been unsuccessful, since it was published by an unrelated person.
Despite this, at the end of September last year, with only one week’s notice (and while he was travelling overseas), Dr Simon had his registration suspended because he supposedly represented a “serious” risk to his patients and it was “necessary” to take immediate action.
Only after a recent legal process has he and his legal team managed to get a ‘stay’ of his suspension, but despite this win Dr Simon was under suspension and unable to practise for 7 weeks, and this has seriously damaged his reputation and business.
In the meantime, Dr Simon’s legal costs have mounted up: to date he has had to pay about $160,000 for his own defence, and at this stage it is not clear how much of this might be covered by his insurance provider.
Despite obtaining a stay, this situation is only temporary: although he is now practising again, the regulator’s decision to suspend him under the ‘immediate action’ laws is still under appeal in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and may be reinstated. And even if his appeal is successful, the regulator is still investigating these historical events and that may result in another decision to sanction him.
All of this means further significant cost to the Floreani family of perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, which could easily be avoided if the regulator is willing accept Dr Simon’s reassurances (which he gave under oath in the legal proceedings) that he will abide by the guidelines and statements that govern him as a health professional, instead of forcing him to challenge its decisions in extremely expensive legal battles.
I cannot help but feel that the regulator in this case is being unfairly heavy-handed with a practitioner who has only ever had his patients’ best interests and wellbeing at heart and provided the utmost care for them and their families, and so I sincerely ask you, if you are able, to please donate towards Dr Simon Floreani’s legal costs to help him keep fighting to maintain his practice, his patients’ well being and his family’s livelihood.
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