Riley's mum supports vaccine plan

The mother of Riley Hughes, the one-month-old Perth boy who died of whooping cough complications last month, says a Federal Government move to discourage conscientious objections to vaccinations will save lives.

But Catherine Hughes, 28, said she wanted a greater awareness of the need for booster shots for adults, given as few as one in 10 was immune to the potentially deadly disease.

Under a measure foreshadowed by The West Australian last week, the Government will withhold family tax benefits and childcare payments unless children are vaccinated.

It could mean some parents will lose up to $15,000 in combined Government support if they refuse to have their children immunised. The rate of objection to immunisation has risen sharply, leaving about 39,000 children unimmunised.

Doctors believe the rise is linked to more reliance on "Dr Google", where people seek medical advice from the internet, often from unreliable sources. The grounds for conscientious objection will be tightened but not eliminated.

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said existing exemptions on medical and religious grounds would continue but a religious exemption would only be available when a religious group's governing body had formally registered its objection - and the Government had accepted it.

"There are no mainstream religions that have such objections registered," Mr Morrison said. "So, this would apply to a very, very, very small proportion of people - it'd be lucky to be in the thousands, if that."

Mrs Hughes, an occupational health and safety officer, said ending welfare for conscientious objectors should be a last resort. "We would like to see more focus on education about the benefits of vaccinations but we appreciate that this will, in all likelihood, increase the immunisation rate and potentially save lives," she said.

Mrs Hughes said Australia should have an adult vaccination register to encourage booster vaccinations.