British author, historian, and retired Supreme Court Judge, Lord Sumption, has been vocal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, questioning the wisdom, necessity, and legality of the British government’s use of the 1984 Public Health Act to implement extraordinary lockdown measures. In this in-depth conversation, Professor Bhattacharya sits down with Lord Sumption to explore pressing ethical and legal questions raised by the COVID-19 policy response, in addition to examining both the historical context and potential ramifications for the future.

Plans are already underway in New South Wales to segregate the population based upon their vaccination status. ‘Vaccine Passports’ – which are the source of major global protests – are being considered by the government to restrict the movement of unvaccinated citizens. Currently, Australians have access to AstraZeneca and Pfizer. 15.1% are listed as fully vaccinated. Access to the workplace, pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, and sports stadiums could be restricted by the end of the year. The government has been exploring measures to allow private businesses to discriminate against their customers on medical grounds, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirming it as a topic of discussion for National Cabinet. While asking for a person’s private medical vaccination status is currently illegal, a public health order is capable of changing that. “The law doesn’t allow for that, I should stress. I mean unless there’s a public health order. Just like it wouldn’t allow someone to be stopped from going to a venue. That’s my advice. But state governments can put those in place. Phase B of the plan is all about ensuring that those who have been vaccinated do get exempted from restrictions,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison to 5AA. Scott Morrison has previously made it clear that he intends to make the vaccine ‘as mandatory as you can possibly make it’. "There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds but that should be the only basis. I mean we’re talking about a pandemic that has destroyed you know, the global economy and taken the lives of hundreds of thousands all around the world and over 450 Australians here,” Morrison told 3AW back in August 2020. At this point, the government was aiming for a 95% vaccination rate. Community objection to the vaccination program has reduced that estimate to 70% in the current roadmap. A proposal was put to the NSW Berejiklian government in 2020 by Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd. If passed, it would require sports fans to have both shots before being allowed into stadiums for any sport, including the AFL and NRL. “If you choose not to have the jab that is your civil right in a free country but the Delta strain is extremely transmissible and we need to do something to reopen our stadiums. The venues will have to say you can’t attend. Simple as that,” said Shepherd, to the Daily Telegraph. These measures are being discussed as an ‘incentive’ by the government, but they are potentially a violation of other rights which have been the norm in Australia. Depending on the government’s decision, Australian workplaces and hospitality venues could ban people who refuse to present a vaccine passport with up-to-date Covid shots. The right for businesses to discriminate against patrons or employees is rarely supported in law. Despite this, various senior political figures have spoken out in support of vaccine passports. "If you want to come into my barbershop or my childcare facility… then I have a right to say, maybe, 'have you been inoculated?' And if you say you haven't, I have got a right as the owner of the shop to say I can't have you sitting in a seat next to someone who has," said Duty Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. French police have been clashing daily with huge anti-vaccine passport protests. Angry citizens across the world have taken to the streets to voice thier disapproval of medical segregation and what they see as an unacceptable infringement on basic rights. The measures causing global protests are very similar to what NSW and Scott Morrison have on the cards for Australia.