Two Australian ticket companies appear to have seized the opportunity to help Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party host a series of vaccine-sceptic conferences after a US ticket platform pulled out at the last minute.
Palmer raged against Eventbrite last week for cancelling a Sunshine Coast UAP event featuring a US coronavirus vaccine sceptic.
“We do not live in Nth Korea — WE WILL NOT BE CENSORED,” Palmer tweeted, along with a screen grab of what he said was an email to customers from Eventbrite.
The email said tickets for the event had been voided because it “does not comply with our community guidelines”.
On Sunday Palmer’s colleague Senator Ralph Babet told his Twitter followers he had “great news”: “The United Australia Party COVID-19 vaccine conference tickets are back on sale!”
According to the UAP’s website, tickets for a Gold Coast stop on the conference tour will be available through Ticketek.
Aussie platform Ivvy will sell tickets for the Sunshine Coast event, as well as those in Melbourne and Sydney, according to the UAP.
Ivvy chief operating officer Lauren Hall said the company ran an online booking platform and that the views of the UAP and the people performing at the event were “solely those of the authors and do not reflect any position of Ivvy”.
“Ivvy, in providing access to its booking platform software, does not endorse the content of any user of its software,” she said.
Although Eventbrite didn’t immediately respond to questions from Crikey about what prompted the cancellation, its community guidelines have provisions against “misinformation” that list “scientifically or medically unsubstantiated health advice that may have detrimental effects on attendees’ health or public safety” as prohibited.
Ticketek, Ivvy and the UAP were also contacted for comment.
There’s no vaccine for stupidity unfortunately.
And as Harlan Ellison, a really great writer, himself coined the wonderful phrase.
“The two most common elements in the universe are… Hydrogen and Stupidity”
And that was what L Ron Hubbard took advantage of with Dianetics morphing into the soi-disant Church of Scientology.
Hubbard a B grade pulp science fiction writer, said something akin to “I’m going to invent a religion that’s going to make me a fortune. I’m tired of writing for a penny a word.”
L Ron’s statement has been attested to by several A grade SF writers and a publisher who were present at the meeting, Harlan Ellison being one such.
But elron demonstrates rat cunning, not stupidity.His followers on the other hand …
I, for one, am shocked – SHOCKED – to hear that Ticketek is supporting unethical behaviour.
“Pr*cks Against Pr*cks”
… At least Eventbright has standards beyond the $holy….
They didn’t always. They were most reluctant to refund my front row Tim Minchin tickets in Newcastle back when Newy was COVID ground zero. They did so right at the last minute, and I do mean the last minute, so last minute, methinks Minchin himself might have had something to do with changing their attitude, it was so at odds with his own science realist one.
Eventbrite wanted a doctor’s certificate verifying my elderly, infirm mother who has COPD really shouldn’t be risking COVID before that. I don’t know who was more upset by their attitude, us or the Civic Theatre.
… But what does that say about Ticketek and Ivvy – in comparison?
Didn’t Clive Palmer deregister the UAP in September 2022?
“Pricks Against Pricks”