Dr Julie Sladden says she used to be an uncontroversial GP and possibly one of the most “boring” people she knew.

But then she refused to have COVID-19 vaccinations at the height of the pandemic.

Despite the mandates that health workers needed to protect themselves and their most vulnerable patients from a virus that was killing thousands, at that point, her outspoken views on the public health response thrust her into the limelight.

Now a former GP, having surrendered her medical registration, she recently stood as the Liberal Party’s candidate — part of the party’s so-called Team of the Decade — for the seat of Bass in the state elections.