James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I had the pleasure of attending the Glynde RSL AGM on Friday. It was the first meeting of that group for a good 12 months, and I was lucky enough to be their guest speaker. I took the opportunity to talk with them about the vaccination program and the importance of getting vaccinated and to explain the Commonwealth's schedule for rolling out the vaccine program. This was an older group, as you can imagine. Those of us who attend RSL meetings would know that. They were of course very enthusiastic and eager to participate in the program, and that was very heartening to me.

But my other point to them, and I'm sure everyone in this chamber will agree with this, is that we need them to be a part of the process of convincing particularly younger Australians to participate in the vaccination program. I think it's a reasonable concern that we all be vigilant and use every opportunity we can to make sure we are explaining to people, particularly younger people who don't fully see themselves as being at risk from COVID-19, how important it is for them to get vaccination. For younger ones in particular, it's not just about them; it's for their loved ones, particularly their older loved ones who are in the cohort who, if they contract this disease, face more risk of being significantly affected. It was a great pleasure to be there, and I urge everyone to get vaccinated.

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