The mother of an 11-year-old of cancer patient has backed calls for protest exclusion zones outside hospitals.
It comes amid large anti-vaxxer gatherings at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where her daughter is receiving treatment.
Karly Kirk made the comments on Monday morning, claiming she came face-to-face with protesters over the weekend.
Ms Kirk told 3AW she “copped the brunt” of one man’s megaphone anti-vax rant while entering the hospital.
“Every single family in this hospital is having a sh*t time of it right now,” she said.
“It should be an exclusion zone. There’s no way anybody needs this at any of these major Melbourne hospitals.”
Ms Kirk’s daughter is currently undergoing treatment for blood cancer after being diagnosed in June.
There are believed to have been up to 200 protesters gathered at the hospital on Saturday, all calling for an end to vaccine mandates.
Transport Minister Jaala Pulford, who lost her 13-year-old daughter Sinead to cancer in 2014, also condemned the protesters’ behaviour.
“I spent a month of my life living on a couch at the Children’s Hospital and I think those people should have a good, hard think about what they’re doing to people going through incredibly challenging personal circumstances,” she said.
“(They should) think about what that might feel like if the shoe were on the other foot.”
Royal Children’s Hospital emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis added he “can’t reason” with people who protest against vaccinations.
“They behave like cults; they do this for everything other than scientific reasons,” he told 3AW.
“If they want to protest, which is an important right, then they need to do that well away from places where people need emergency care.”
