House debates

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Matters of Public Importance

Covid-19

3:47 pm

Photo of Justine ElliotJustine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Exactly! Well, I can tell you that we won't be having it in my community. We oppose nuclear power.

The fact is, no matter who leads the National Party, it is the party that has walked away from rural and regional Australia time and time again. It has. Whether it's its inaction on climate change or its cuts to Medicare or its cruel plans to force all pensioners onto the cashless welfare card across rural and regional Australia—shame on you!—we will fight you on all of those issues, and many more, right across the country, in every town and in every regional area, because you have left behind country Australia.

As I often say in this House, National Party choices hurt. They really do hurt. They hurt the regions. The fact is the National Party are just as hopeless as the Prime Minister when it comes to their multiple failures. Look at the regions. It's the National Party's fault that we don't have the vaccine rollout. That is their fault. That is their legacy. Every day in the regions we hear people screaming, 'Why can't we get our vaccines here?' They are just too consumed with themselves. That's all they do. They've got no plans for renewables, for the pandemic, for the future, for wages, for health—no matter what it is, they have no plans. They're too busy talking about themselves.

When it comes to the pandemic, when it comes to really repairing our economy and making sure that people are healthy and safe, Labor have that plan. We have the plan to fight the pandemic. We'll build dedicated quarantine facilities. We'll fix the vaccine rollout. We will start a mass public information campaign. Where is the information campaign? There is none at the moment. We will begin manufacturing mRNA vaccines like Pfizer in Australia. That four-point plan that Labor have put forward, that is the positive plan. But all we get from this government, from the Liberal Party and the National Party, are arrogance, stubbornness and a disregard and contempt for the Australian people. It has to end.

Comments

No comments