Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Tuesday in question time the Minister for Health and Aged Care announced a new disability vaccination hub would be opening in my electorate of Newcastle next Monday. This was welcome news given the appalling rates of vaccination for people with disability and their carers, disability support workers and aged-care workers in Australia. Let's not forget this Prime Minister's promise that these priority 1a and 1b people would be vaccinated by Easter. Guess what? It's now August. Aged-care and disability support workers and NDIS participants are desperate to be vaccinated, Prime Minister, but you failed to secure enough vaccines, leaving vulnerable people in my community unprotected.

With less than two business days now before the new disability vaccine centre is set to open, Novocastrians have been left completely in the dark. I've reached out to the minister to seek details about the location, operating hours and booking processes of the clinic, and confirmation of vaccine eligibility. Surely this should be public information, but there's been absolutely no word from the minister. There's been absolute radio silence. The Prime Minister was wrong when he said it's not a race, because it always was a race, and now that the government finally accepts that it is a race their response is always too little, too late.

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