In a speech now being promoted on social media by conspiracy theorists - including celebrity chef Pete Evans - Mr Kelly claimed on Tuesday evening that"groupthink"and the"complete abandonment of reason"were driving a"war"on hydroxychloroquine.
Dr Margaret Heffernan,an RMIT lecturer who researches attitudes to vaccination,described Mr Kelly's speech as"extremely dangerous"and warned MPs had a responsibility to ensure the views they aired were accurate as many people lacked the health literacy to"separate misinformation and fantasy"from fact.
"Craig Kelly is in a position of influence and should not be coming out with these wild statements with no factual evidence,"Dr Heffernan said.
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"In Australia we are well renowned for our standards of health and the quality of our scientific research."
University of NSW Kirby Institute infectious disease expert Greg Dore said the clinical trials to date showed that hydroxychloroquine was"a drug with zero evidence of efficacy"for treating COVID-19.
The backbench MP said in his speech the restrictions on prescribing of the drug,normally used to treat malaria and lupus,amounted to"the big hand of government … interfer[ing] in a doctor-patient relationship"and cited discredited medical commentators.