Senior Government figures refuse to condemn Craig Kelly for spreading unofficial coronavirus information online

Senior government figures have resisted calls to condemn Liberal MP Craig Kelly for declaring compulsory mask wearing in schools would be “a crime” and a “form of child abuse”.

The federal backbencher has repeatedly shared unofficial medical advice on social media about COVID-19, and on Tuesday used his Facebook account to reference a study and wrote “forcing children to wear masks is causing massive physical and psychological harm”.