Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Republic) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Locals in Kingsford Smith want to get vaccinated, and many in the Bayside Local Government Area now need to get their shot to go to work. The New South Wales government announced [inaudible] vaccination bookings for people aged between 16 and 39 who live or work in the Bayside LGA area of concern. But many of the locals from the old Botany Council area in Bayside are finding it difficult to get an appointment. That's because the appointment booking system hasn't been recognising their suburb postcode as being an area of concern. Instead, it has been those over in the old Rockdale council area who have been able to secure appointments for their jabs. Residents in Bayside who live on the Botany side of the electorate should not be locked out of the vaccine website. Bayside LGA is an area of concern mainly because of the high number of cases in the former Rockdale council area, but the Botany and Rockdale areas are clearly separated by an airport and share few common activities. It's yet another reason our community continues to voice its frustration with the local council mergers forced on them by the New South Wales Liberal government.

Our community in the old Botany government area should be able to book a vaccine appointment. It's not good enough, and it's a great example of this government's appalling muddling of the vaccination system.

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