Ken McLeod

PO Box 51
Moruya NSW 2537
8 September 2009
Associate Professor Anthony Brown
Associate Dean and Head, School of Rural Health
Sydney Medical School
Via Email: tobrown@med.usyd.edu.au

Dear Professor Brown

RE "REVIEW OF SYSTEMIC ISSUES RELATED TO THE DEATH FROM WHOOPING COUGH

(PERTUSSIS) OF DANA MCCAFFERY."

I am the author of the complaint to the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission regarding
the activities of the so-called "Australian Vaccination Network" (AVN) and its president,
Meryl Dorey, (attached.) Consequently, the HCCC is in the process of investigating the AVN.
My complaint establishes beyond doubt that the AVN and its President Meryl Dorey
(despite their claim to issue balanced information), issue statements and advice that are
clearly wrong, selective, baseless, misleading, deceptive, biased, and a danger to public
health, while engaging in bizarre conspiracy theories, fear campaigns and invasions of
privacy. Nowhere in all my research into the AVN did I find any statement from the AVN
supporting vaccination in any way. I have not heard from the HCCC of any outcome of my
complaint.

I have only just become aware, via communications with Mrs. McCaffery, of the "Review of
systemic issues related to the death from whooping cough (Pertussis) of Dana McCaffery." I
wish to make this submission to the Review, and ask your indulgence, in spite of this late
approach.

Regarding Term of Reference c: “Identify whether there have been Federal and/or State
Government programs to inform all adults to have regular booster vaccinations and assess
the effectiveness of any such programs.”

I can only add my humble observation. I have no doubt that while there are such programs,
they are not effective. I am a well-informed 61 year-old grandfather, with a proactive GP,
yet I never knew until a few weeks ago that I needed a Pertussis booster. Why not?

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Regarding Term of Reference p: “Recommend strategies governments can adopt for
responding more effectively to organised anti-vaccination campaigns and messages.”

First I should explain some of my background: I worked for 30 years in Search And Rescue
(SAR) in the Commonwealth Government, working my way up to Manager of SAR Policy in
Head Office and Vice-Chairman of a United Nations Committee. I had to deal with many
people like Meryl Dorey; in my case, they were often crackpot inventors who could never
accept that we knew what we were doing and that their inventions really were inferior to
our existing equipment.

The usual tactic we adopted, (and by "we" I mean managers, the Executive, and our
Ministers), was to be awfully nice and say as little as possible, but usually giving in to them
in the end just to make them go away. That never worked. The result was that we were
lumbered with dangerous inferior equipment and they never did go away. All we had
achieved was to encourage them. In retrospect, what we should have done was tell the
truth to everyone, including the Ministers and the media.

I can see the Health Departments and politicians adopting the same failed strategy that we
used back then, and it is not working.

Meryl Dorey is now the default “talking head” whenever the media want to run a piece on
vaccination. The media, in their ignorance, regard her as credible, and in their
determination to provide balance, will approach her. This is of course a “false balance”, but
the general public do not see that; all they see is an articulate and seemingly well-informed
spokesperson on vaccination issues. How wrong they are: by giving her air time, the media
has built up her reputation, falsely, and apart from a few brave individuals like Professor
McIntyre and Dr Chris Ingoll, she is unchallenged.

That is why I submitted my complaint to the HCCC: I saw that Meryl Dorey was not being
challenged or even corrected, and so I and a few others formed the “Stop the AVN”
organisation.i I must point out that it is not our responsibility to do that, it is the
responsibility of government to set the record straight. We have only stepped into the
vacuum. (And some vacuum it is, we now number 989 members.)

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So I submit:

1. The AVN's dishonest campaign against vaccination is effective and has led to drops in
vaccination rates, and some deaths.

2. Following the death of baby Dana McCaffery who died of Whooping Cough earlier this
year, the "Stop the AVN" campaign began to challenge Meryl Dorey, in the absence of any
action from any government or health department.

3. It is the responsibility of government to do that, not us, nor Dana's parents.

4. Meryl Dorey will not be humoured into acquiescence regarding the benefits of
vaccination.

5. Ignoring her has not worked, and never will.

6. Meryl Dorey must be challenged every time she issues an incorrect statement, via the
media units of the Commonwealth State and Territory Departments of Health.

7. If necessary, Ministers for Health should make statements under Parliamentary Privilege
pointing out her disregard for the truth.

8. Eventually, the media and the public will wake up to her, and turn to (we hope) more
reliable sources of information.

I recognise that if Meryl Dorey and the AVN were to magically disappear overnight, their
places would be taken by some other crackpots. The strategy I outlined above should be
used on them also.

For your consideration.

Ken McLeod

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i
I was in fact a late joiner; the credit must go here to Daniel Raffaele. See
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76305414878&ref=mf