A Brisbane coffee tsar says he will ignore an incoming government rule banning unvaccinated people from hospitality venues.
An award-winning Brisbane coffee baron says he’ll be ignoring any government rule that bans unvaccinated people from his cafe, and anyone who supports the new mandate has “rocks in their head”.
Rich-lister Phillip Di Bella, who runs the Coffee Commune in Bowen Hills, says he will not “discriminate” against unvaccinated customers when new laws come into effect next month that threaten fines and bans from pubs, stadiums, cafes, cinemas and aged care homes if you haven’t had two jabs.
“What has this world come to,” Mr Di Bella said in a furious LinkedIn post.
“Is this something that we’re prepared to let happen to you as an individual … your human rights … everyone fought for human rights … we signed up to treaties around the world.
“If you want to be vaccinated, you be vaccinated, if you don’t, you don’t. You take the health precautions that you need for yourself.”
Mr Di Bella’s outburst comes as United Australia Party chairman Clive Palmer threatens to take state government to court for its impending new rules around vaccines and venues.
The new state Labor government policy – backed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland – allows businesses to eject people who have not been vaccinated against Covid, with police able to issue fines to those who refuse.
The policy is due to come into effect when borders open on December 17, which is when the state is expected to reach an 80 per cent double vaccine target.
Mr Palmer announced his party would challenge the new restrictions in the Queensland Supreme Court or the High Court.
There were two new community cases in Queensland on Wednesday, an unvaccinated Warwick man and a mystery case on the Gold Coast.
Queensland on Wednesday was on the cusp of hitting the 80 per cent first dose mark that will allow the easing of mask rules in certain venues and settings.
Only 67.8 per cent of Queenslanders are fully vaccinated, with the state struggling to shake a wider hesitancy.
Mr Di Bella is furious that the government is moving to take away people’s “freedoms”.
The recently named Business Person of the Year at the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards said his argument had nothing to do vaccines or vaccinations, rather with “human rights”.
When told by a commenter to “just get vaccinated for god sake just get on it with it” Mr Di Bella said he never said he was unvaccinated.
He also told anyone who disagreed with him to delete their post, and that no discussions or comments were required.
“I really question where humans have really taken their thinking and their morals,” he said.
“When people have gone to war, lost lives, trillions of dollars spent on protecting someone‘s rights, and their human rights and now we’re happy to let politicians just do this.
“If you support … mandating something like this, that you have your human rights taken away on where you can eat, where you can drink, where you can associate, where you can go based on whether you are vaccinated or not … then you’ve got rocks in your head and this country has gone mad.”
There have been more than 180,000 cases of Covid in Australia and more than 1800 deaths since the pandemic began.
Originally published as Brisbane coffee tsar Phillip Di Bella says he’ll be ignoring a government ban on unvaccinated patrons
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