Vaccination Crackdown!

Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children may find themselves refused from Queensland childcare centres under a new bill introduced into State Parliament.

Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was unashamedly following the lead set by NSW state Labor by putting the public health bill forward. Ms  Palaszczuk said she hoped it received the same level of support.

"It's the right thing to do, it makes sense and I would be very surprised if there was any other member of parliament who did not support this initiative," Ms Palaszczuk said.

The Bill, to be introduced during the Thursday afternoon parliament session by shadow health minister Jo-Ann Miller will seek to "give children enrolled at child care centres and the staff who look after them protection from preventable infectious disease".

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The law will make exceptions for those who can not receive vaccinations for medical reasons.

Ms Miller said it was "not about punishing parents" it was a "legally binding right to protect children".

Ms Miller said the National Health Performance Authority had found 70,000 children were not fully immunised in Australia, with the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, named as the area with the state's lowest immunisation compliance rates.

"What we see in Queensland is a situation, particularly on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane, where the rates of vaccination are as low as Uganda and Angola.  This is not acceptable in a first world country in Australia and it is not acceptable in Queensland," Ms Miller said.

"Our babies, our little ones are precious to all of us, we need to protect them all from some of the worst diseases and we really need to look after them."
The opposition said they were hoping for bipartisan support.

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"It's the right thing to do, it makes sense and I would be very surprised if there was any other member of parliament who did not support this initiative"