Hammond Family Get Support From MP

This is a follow up to Hammond Family Terrorised By Police

The Hammond family have now had some very encouraging support and validation from Alannah MacTiernan, Federal MP for the seat of Perth.

First, some background…

Late last year Alannah spoke about the Hammonds in Parliament, while calling for a no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme, watch it here:

After the recent police raid she has been in contact with the Hammonds, and yesterday she spoke again in Parliament, this time about the police raid and stating she has asked the Commissioner of Police, Karl O’Callaghan, for proper investigation of the raid and also the persecution of the family.

Find the speech on Hansard here :
Parlinfo – ADJOURNMENT – Hammond, Mr Ben

Here is the speech:

Ms MacTIERNAN (Perth) (16:49): I want to tell the House again of the appalling situation that has arisen because of our failure to provide a national compensation scheme for those who take one for the team and suffer a rare adverse effect from a vaccination. We are one of the few OECD countries not to do so.

I have raised this with the Minister for Social Services and the Minister for Health, and I hope that we can make some progress towards addressing this serious problem both for the specific family that I will talk about and for any family that suffers such an extreme reaction and permanent disability.

Ben Hammond, in 2012, received a booster of a whooping cough vaccine and had a rare adverse reaction. He now has a serious permanent disability. This is no-one’s fault, but he cannot work and he and his family soon may lose their home.

This family has been now labelled ‘anti-vaxxer’ as they seek to get some compensation, and they have been subject to some pretty awful trolling by the anti-anti-vaxxers and to some malicious reports to police.

On 19 January this year, a team of around 10 police officers from the Kalgoorlie Police Station mounted a dawn raid on their home. The search warrant was issued on the basis that there might have been drugs on the property. Following the raid, Tanya Hammond contacted me in distress.

She described the raid. She, her husband and their three children were dragged from their beds. Ben has difficulty walking but he was forced out of bed and made to lie on the floor. The officers drew their weapons to intimidate the family. In the process of the raid, the officers totally ransacked their home.

One of the officers took a selfie during the raid with the family’s pet dog and one of the participants in the raid, bizarrely, bears a very strong resemblance to a person who has a history of making adverse comments about Tanya Hammond and her family on social media.

During the raid, the Hammonds were told that they were suspected of manufacturing and selling crystal methamphetamine. No such drugs or implements were discovered, although two cannabis plants and a smoking implement were found, as Ben uses this to help with the nerve pain from his injuries.

Apparently then one of the officers returned to the property shortly after the raid to apologise for their treatment and to disclose to Tanya that he thought they had been stitched up by members of the public. Within 20 minutes of the raid a journalist appeared at the house and said that they were aware that this family had been suspected of dealing in crystal meth and that they had been charged.

Subsequently, they were contacted by a senior sergeant at the police station who advised that he had been asked by the district office to do an investigation into the conduct of this raid.

It is completely and utterly unacceptable that the officer in charge of the police station that was responsible for that raid should take charge of reporting on his own officers, so this week I have written to the Commissioner of Police, Karl O’Callaghan, to ask him to ensure that there is a proper, independent investigation of the behaviour of the police during this raid and, indeed, of the persecution of this family who, very simply, are trying to get some justice and some reasonable compensation for the very severe trauma and loss that they have suffered, not because anyone is at fault but because they participated, and participated willingly, in the vaccination program that was asked of them.

I am deeply concerned and have raised this matter on a couple of occasions now with the Minister for Social Services. I do hope that we, as a community, can see our way clear to ensure that families like this are not left out on a limb into the future.

* * *

Thanks, Alannah.

More cases of ADEM

Ben Hammond is incapacitated due to a condition known as ADEM, brought on by a vaccine. Here are some more cases, also caused by a vaccine…

In 2009, the parents of 10-year-old Bailey Banks were awarded compensation for their son’s autism caused by the MMR vaccine, to the tune of $810,000 plus an estimated $30-40,000 per year for autism services and care. The court ruled that Petitioners had proven the MMR had directly caused the brain inflammation illness Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) which, in turn, had caused the autism spectrum disorder PDD-NOS in the child. See this article:
Vaccine Court: Autism Debate Continues

On the following page we see this June 4 2015 report where 4 cases of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) were compensated for in the US government’s Vaccine Court (VICP) in just a 3 month period. Two of these cases resulted in death.
Vaccine Injuries and Deaths Continue to Increase in Federal Vaccine Court

This quarterly report has 5 cases of ADEM
Government Continues to Pay Damages for Injuries and Deaths Due to the Flu Vaccine in Vaccine Court

Other quarterly reports usually have a few ADEM cases, see here:
Vaccine Injuries and Death payments

We have become aware of another tragic case of ADEM brought on by a vaccine, from this article published early 2016 about a girl in Florida…
A flu shot is blamed for paralyzing Marysue Grivna; the 12-year-old needs a room of her own

“Medical researchers say ADEM has an abrupt onset and symptoms usually exhibit one to three weeks after an infection or a vaccination.”

UPDATE

April 10 2016 – this recent article in the Kalgoorlie Miner reports that Kalgoorlie MLA Wendy Duncan has spoken to WA Health Minister John Day in Parliament, about the Hammond family and the need for compensation for vaccine injury.

For background go to Hammond Family Terrorised By Police

For the latest information visit this post: Escape From Kalgoorlie.. Tanya Hammond Interview May 3

– Robin