My name is Craig Backman and until recently, I WAS, a proud Senior Constable with Victoria Police. On the 17th of September 2021, I wrote an email to Management of Victoria Police where I outlined my reasons for refusing to be a part of any activity that I believed unfairly breached the Human Rights of Victorian citizens, as ordered by the Victorian Government. I had hoped that by speaking out in such a formal way, that my message would have been taken seriously by Victoria Police and may have been encouraging to other members, who I knew where also deeply conflicted regarding the enforcement of Health recommendations that have been inconsistent, illogical and detrimental to our communities as a whole, in so many ways.

I was also concerned that Victoria Police was losing the trust and faith of the Victorian Public, through the tactics used to enforce these recommendations, which have at times, in the eyes of many including myself, been quite brutal, and creating unnecessarily dangerous situations for all. I had hoped that my email to Management on the 17th of September clearly explained that our loyalty should be to upholding the rights of the citizens of Victoria, but as I received no reply, I was extremely saddened and disappointed that it appeared our leaders did not share my sentiments. Then, I heard the Premier of Victoria declare that “unvaccinated people” will lose their right to employment and would be “locked out” of both the Economy and the Healthcare System, due to the decision not to take an injection with unknown long term side effects being considered “high risk” behaviour”.

I was so disgusted by this blatant demonising and discrimination against a section of the Public that I made the decision that I could no longer be a part of any organisation that would be party to such blatant and deliberate breaching of Human Rights and creation of a “two-tiered” and segregated society. Let me ask you, if “high risk” behaviour justifies being denied medical treatment, where does that ideology end? Should a person who overdosed on illicit substances be denied treatment and left to die because of the choices they made? How about people who ride motorcycles? Cyclists who ride on the road and get hit by a car? How about smokers, or people who drink too much alcohol, or get diabetes from an unhealthy lifestyle or go on dates with strangers through dating apps and get sexually assaulted? How about rock climbers or Surfers or Race car Drivers or Jockeys or people who play contact sport? Should we also deny medical treatment to these people and leave them to die because of there life choices? Of course not, because that would be inhumane and disgusting in a society that values Human Rights, Freedom of choice and respect for each other as individuals. The Premier didn’t stop there.

Daniel Andrews went on to mandate that all “authorised workers” must be injected with a drug (that has been repeatedly referred to as a vaccine, which it is NOT) that has a poor short term safety record and no long term safety record at all, if they want to retain their Human Right to employment. So now, 2 weeks to slow the spread back in early 2020 has become “show me your papers or no soup for you”! If this situation wasn’t so dire it would be comical! The ability to earn a living, to put a roof over your and your families heads, to put food on the table, to provide basic needs for yourself and you dependents is now being removed from people unless they comply with the Government’s demands. Is this Australia?

Is this Democracy at work or something quite the opposite? The stress, anxiety and pure mental anguish that these “mandates” are causing thousands of Victorians is immeasurable. I shudder at the thought of what these people must be feeling at this point, faced with a choice between starvation and homelessness for their whole family OR participate in a medical trial that has in fact, killed thousands of people around the world. If that is not the very definition of coercion, I don’t know what is. But hey, we’re free to choose, right?

Victoria Police members are essentially “professional investigators”, from the top of the organisation to the bottom. Every rank and role within it attends to jobs that require investigative ability. My disillusionment with the organisation is not only due to the tactics used to Police this Pandemic response, but what I believe to be an abject failure in our ability, as professional investigators, to not see that the narrative used by the Government, did not and does not match the evidence on the ground and from around the world, and therefore further investigation was required. Many of my former colleagues and myself, began to struggle daily, with the constant reminder that our organisation’s leaders seemed to be ignoring clear signs that the evidence from around the world regarding this pandemic, was at odds with what our Government was claiming as fact.

PHYSICIANS DECLARATION 
GLOBAL COVID SUMMIT – ROME, ITALY

International Alliance of Physicians and Medical Scientists
September, 2021
(view in Italian) (view in Slovak) (view in Dutch) (view in Spanish)

[UPDATE: as of 4:45pm ET on 10/1 over 8,600 doctors & scientists have signed the Rome Declaration. Please join us by reading and signing below.]

We the physicians of the world, united and loyal to the Hippocratic Oath, recognizing the profession of medicine as we know it is at a crossroad, are compelled to declare the following;

WHEREAS, it is our utmost responsibility and duty to uphold and restore the dignity, integrity, art and science of medicine;

WHEREAS, there is an unprecedented assault on our ability to care for our patients;

WHEREAS, public policy makers have chosen to force a “one size fits all” treatment strategy, resulting in needless illness and death, rather than upholding fundamental concepts of the individualized, personalized approach to patient care which is proven to be safe and more effective;

WHEREAS, physicians and other health care providers working on the front lines, utilizing their knowledge of epidemiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, are often first to identify new, potentially life saving treatments;

WHEREAS, physicians are increasingly being discouraged from engaging in open professional discourse and the exchange of ideas about new and emerging diseases, not only endangering the essence of the medical profession, but more importantly, more tragically, the lives of our patients;

WHEREAS, thousands of physicians are being prevented from providing treatment to their patients, as a result of barriers put up by pharmacies, hospitals, and public health agencies, rendering the vast majority of healthcare providers helpless to protect their patients in the face of disease.  Physicians are now advising their patients to simply go home (allowing the virus to replicate) and return when their disease worsens, resulting in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary patient deaths, due to failure-to-treat;

WHEREAS, this is not medicine. This is not care. These policies may actually constitute crimes against humanity.

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS:

RESOLVED, that the physician-patient relationship must be restored. The very heart of medicine is this relationship, which allows physicians to best understand their patients and their illnesses, to formulate treatments that give the best chance for success, while the patient is an active participant in their care. 

RESOLVED, that the political intrusion into the practice of medicine and the physician/patient relationship must end. Physicians, and all health care providers, must be free to practice the art and science of medicine without fear of retribution, censorship, slander, or disciplinary action, including possible loss of licensure and hospital privileges, loss of insurance contracts and interference from government entities and organizations – which further prevent us from caring for patients in need. More than ever, the right and ability to exchange objective scientific findings, which further our understanding of disease, must be protected.

RESOLVED, that physicians must defend their right to prescribe treatment, observing the tenet FIRST, DO NO HARM. Physicians shall not be restricted from prescribing safe and effective treatments. These restrictions continue to cause unnecessary sickness and death. The rights of patients, after being fully informed about the risks and benefits of each option, must be restored to receive those treatments.

RESOLVED, that we invite physicians of the world and all health care providers to join us in this noble cause as we endeavor to restore trust, integrity and professionalism to the practice of medicine.

RESOLVED, that we invite the scientists of the world, who are skilled in biomedical research and uphold the highest ethical and moral standards, to insist on their ability to conduct and publish objective, empirical research without fear of reprisal upon their careers, reputations and livelihoods.

RESOLVED, that we invite patients, who believe in the importance of the physician-patient relationship and the ability to be active participants in their care, to demand access to science-based medical care.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has signed this Declaration as of the date first written.