Former Federal Coalition MP and currently Mackay Regional Councillor George Christensen has been investigating the persecution of Christian GP Dr. Jereth Kok who was suspended from practicing six years ago, and forced to retrain in another profession.
All because of his provocative social media posts, not because of his unblemished record in treating his patients for 15 years.
In his newsletter Nation First, Mr. Christensen explains what he found out after accessing correspondence to and from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
He wrote: “it’s worse than we thought”
“This wasn’t regulation. It was persecution.”
“This wasn’t oversight. It was a digital inquisition.”
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
In a landmark free speech decision released last month, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) found Dr. Jereth Kok guilty of multiple counts of professional misconduct.
It ruled 54 of the 85 posts it considered, to be misconduct, despite their political, religious and satirical nature and despite them having no impact on his treatment of his patients.
The case dates back to 2018 when two anonymous non-patients complained to the Medical Board.
George Christensen writes that triggered a years-long, taxpayer-funded witchhunt.
DEMAND TO HAND OVER DOCTOR’S SOCIAL MEDIA HISTORY
“On 5 August 2019, AHPRA sent a formal demand to Facebook’s Sydney office to produce:”
- Every post and comment ever made by Dr Kok
- Comments made under his posts by other users
- Deleted and archived content
- Evidence of any community standards violations
- Details of any warnings or bans
- The dates, times, and content of every interaction
“It was a five-year dragnet to scrutinise his private thoughts, satire, and Christian commentary.”
FACEBOOK RECOGNISES “GOVERNMENT OVERREACH”
“To its credit, Facebook’s legal team pushed back, saying:”
- It does not fall under Australian jurisdiction
- AHPRA’s “Notice to Produce” had no legal force internationally
- They could not and would not release user data without a valid court order or subpoena
- They suggested AHPRA seek the data directly from Dr. Kok instead
“Even Big Tech saw this for what it was: government overreach on a global scale.”
“INVESTIGATION GOES NUCLEAR”
“Undeterred by Facebook’s refusal, AHPRA went nuclear.”
“They hired Ferrier Hodgson, a private forensic firm, and commissioned them to scour not only Facebook, but also websites and blogs, where Dr. Kok had posted comments over the years. The result:”
- 239 web pages crawled
- 122 pages identified with Kok’s name
- Sophisticated “scrolling” software deployed to uncover hidden and de-ranked comments
- Facebook’s own privacy settings bypassed using test accounts
- A full quote for this particular item of work cites an estimate $4,800 to $6,000 in taxpayer funds.
“They didn’t just want to know what Dr. Kok had said.”
“They wanted to know everywhere he’d said it, everyone he’d said it to, and everything anyone said in response.”
“THEY WEREN’T PROTECTING PATIENTS. THEY WERE PUNISHING DISSENT”
George Christensen writes: “Let’s be clear. This level of scrutiny is usually reserved for criminal probes.”
“AHPRA and VCAT claimed their goal was to maintain public confidence in the medical profession.”
“But this bordered on an ideological profile in search of a justification.”
“They weren’t protecting patients. They were punishing dissent.”
“THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ANY CHRISTIAN WHO SPEAKS OUT”
“If this can happen to Dr. Kok, it can happen to any Christian, any conservative, any professional who holds a licence or registration with a government body.”
“Let me spell it out:”
- If you post on Facebook about abortion being wrong, they can investigate.
- If you comment on a friend’s page about gender ideology, they can subpoena it.
- If you question a public health order, you might face a panel.
- And if you share satire, post Scripture, or defend biblical truth, they’ll call it misconduct.
“This is now documented reality with the case of Dr. Kok.”
“THIS IS THE MESSAGE: KEEP YOUR CHRISTIANITY QUIET”
“All for what?” asks George Christensen.
- No patient was harmed.
- No clinical error was made.
- And yet this man has been banned from practising for six years.
“This was about sending a message:”
“Keep your Christianity quiet.”
“Toe the line or lose your livelihood.”
“WAS THIS THE BEST USE OF EVERYONE’S TIME AND EFFORTS?”
Catholic Weekly columnist Monica Doumit asks: “Was the meticulous investigation of more than a decade of social media posts and the dogged pursuit of an anonymous complaint to the Medical Board really the best use of everyone’s time and efforts?
“With reported five-week waits for a routine GP appointment in Victoria and a projection that by 2031, Australia will have a shortfall of 10,600 GPs, does anyone really believe that patients in Victoria are “safer” now that Dr. Kok is on the bench?”
“Is this really in the best interests of patients? Or has something gone awry?”
“Now, don’t get me wrong. Any sane friend or family member [of Dr. Kok] should have convinced him to get off social media a long time ago.”
“But I can’t see why the Medical Board prefers that Victorian patients wait even longer for their medical appointments rather than see a competent doctor who posts “incorrect” views on his social media accounts.
“It makes no sense.”
Nation First also tells the personal story of how Dr. Jereth Kok lost his career, but kept his faith and his family.
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