Media release - for immediate publication

March 4, 2019

Organisers of the Tasmanian Wellness Expo are disappointed that an anti-vaccination message was disseminated at an event designed to promote health and wellbeing options to help improve the lives of Tasmanians.

Australian Rotary Health and West Moonah Community House are joint partners in coordinating this event.

Rotary and West Moonah Community House do not support the anti-vaccination movement or the views expressed in the information displayed at the stall that has been highlighted in media reports.

Rotary, including Australian Rotary Health, is a passionate advocate for vaccination around the world.

It is the efforts of Rotary that has helped to immunise the world’s population against polio. The End Polio Now initiative, which is supported by Bill and Melinda Gates, is “this close” to eradicating the disease.

Rotarians in Tasmania, and around the world, are volunteers who serve in countless ways with two key focuses being disease prevention and treatment, and maternal and child health.

Rotary Tasmania and West Moonah Community House have had a proud and long partnership supporting community goals of improving the health and welfare of members of the Tasmanian community.

During the registration process, there was no record of any stalls delivering an anti-vaccination message.

Since learning of this disappointing outcome, organisers will be ensuring greater diligence in selecting stallholders in future.

Overwhelmingly, the expo was a great success.

We are grateful to both the state government and the Hobart City Council for supporting the event and look forward to working with them in the future.

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