The City of Sydney has been forced to pull down a page on its website promoting an anti-vaccination event, with lord mayor Clover Moore intervening amid a social media backlash on Sunday afternoon.
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The event, hosted by Dr Judy Wilyman and titled Let's talk about Vaccines, will be held at a secret location in Sydney on Monday night. Would-be attendees will be told of the location via SMS or email just three hours before the event.
Dr Wilyman, who has a PhD from the University of Wollongong, has previously attracted controversy for her views on vaccinations that medical professionals say amount to "conspiracy theories".
Dr Wilyman was billed on the page as "Australia's top vaccine expert", a title dismissed by Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon.
"That's a long way from the truth," he said.
Dr Gannon told Fairfax Media he was "very disappointed" to see the event promoted, but was "pleased to see that the Sydney City Council has acted quickly" to remove it.
"Although events like these are couched in people making a choice, unfortunately a lot of children don't realise their parents are turning them into microbiological experiments," Dr Gannon said.
"It's certainly not credible information and it's not correct."
After being made aware that the City of Sydney was promoting the event, Ms Moore tweeted on Sunday afternoon that she had asked her staff to remove the event.
Hi Tanya, thanks to all who alerted me to this event - I spoke with staff and asked for it to be removed immediately.??? Clover Moore (@CloverMoore) November 19, 2017
It is not a @cityofsydney event & is entirely contrary to our values: evidence-based policies in the interest of our city's communities.??? Clover Moore (@CloverMoore) November 19, 2017
Within minutes, the page had been deleted.
While Dr Gannon said he was not worried about a majority of the Australian population being swayed by the movement's incredible claims, he said even a small percentage of non-vaccinated people could unleash diseases, particularly on vulnerable people in places like aged care and childcare facilities.
"I think there are some people who are prone to believing conspiracy theories," he said.
"The simple answer is that the further from memory that these diseases go, the easier it is to make this argument to people.
"Local government authorities need to be very careful in vetting events," Dr Gannon said.
The event was promoted as "health" and "wellbeing" on the City of Sydney's website, under the What's On section.
Among other topics, the event page stated it would cover the question: "How can you decide what is best for your children and yourself?"
"The night will be covering urgent worldwide vaccine safety concerns," the page said, before it was removed.
The City of Sydney page promoting the event. Photo: City of Sydney
The event promises an "open, honest and respectful discussion about vaccines", something it calls an "urgent" issue.
In a statement, a City of Sydney spokeswoman distanced the council from the event.
"This event should not have been included in the City of Sydney's Whats On listings and it has been removed.
"It is entirely contrary to our values - we support evidence-based policies in the interest of our city communities."
Events listed on the What's On page can be submitted by anyone, and "only violent or pornographic material" is censored, the statement said.
In a statement, Dr Wilyman said the issue "needs to be debated".
"The public is entitled to know the risks of vaccination because this is a medical procedure and as such informed consent of both the risks and benefits is required by law."
