THE Prime Minister is cracking down on anti-vaxxers, insisting that all parents who don’t have their children immunised should be denied welfare payments.

But in November 2006, Tony Abbott’s attitude was vastly different. The then-Health Minister said he “wouldn’t be rushing out to get his daughters vaccinated” against cervical cancer.

“Maybe that’s because I’m a cruel, callow, callous, heartless bastard but, look, I won’t be,” Mr Abbott told Southern Cross radio. “If there is a national immunisation program, I certainly will be making sure that they get vaccinated under the program.”

Mr Abbott’s comments came as the Pharmaceutical Benefit Advisory Committee (PBAC) knocked back an application from Australian manufacturer CSL to make the Gardasil vaccine available free to all females aged 12 to 26.

Gardasil halts the spread of sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers. It was developed by Australian Ian Frazer, who was recently shortlisted for the European Inventor Award 2015 for saving countless lives with his discovery.

Liberal Senator Jeannie Ferris, who was recovering from ovarian cancer when Mr Abbott made his comments, was fiercely critical of his stance. “How embarrassing that our country is the one that is not going to vaccinate its daughters,” she said. “I have to say I am very disappointed with the decision because the average family might have two daughters and is looking at almost $1000 to decide to give their children lifetime protection. And who doesn’t want to do that?

“I am optimistic that commonsense will prevail. Put a price on somebody’s mother, somebody’s sister, somebody’s wife — $400 — I don’t think so.”

Mr Abbott’s then-counterpart, Julia Gillard, told ABC Radio at the time: “The PBAC’s principle reason, as I understand it, was the cost of this vaccine. That’s pretty short-sighted when we know that this vaccine is going to cut cervical cancer by 70 per cent.”

Then-Queensland Deputy Premier Anna Bligh said the decision was ridiculous. “They should immediately reconsider it, and frankly the Health Minister Tony Abbott, in all conscience, has to intervene.”

Twenty days later, Mr Abbott asked PBAC to consider a new submission from CSL with more information and at a lower price “given the possibility of introducing an immunisation program through schools in 2007”.

In April 2007, Gardasil was made available free to girls aged 12-13 as part of the National Immunisation Program. In February 2013, it was also made available to boys aged 12-13.

But it was not a priority for Mr Abbott in early November 2006.

“The program is what the experts think clearly is absolutely necessary, and at the moment the experts don’t think this is absolutely necessary,” he said.