‘Yes Minister is the reality’: the story of a GP who became a deputy premier

Dr Kim Hames says being a politician is more like the British satire Yes, Minister than others care to admit.
Dr Kim Hames on the eve of his retirement from politics in 2017. Photo: Nathan Hondros © Mandurah Mail/ACM

Dr Kim Hames was driving home when he made one of his most consequential decisions as WA Deputy Premier and Minister for Health.

He banned CSL’s Fluvax vaccine for kids, which had caused hundreds of reactions, including febrile convulsions in the worst cases.