Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've seen vaccine hesitancy because of the Morrison government's failed communication, we've seen quarantine facility construction hesitancy from them and, for the past week, we've had lockdown support hesitancy. They've been hesitant to take responsibility for the financial effects of the lockdown that their policies were responsible for. That sets alarm bells ringing for every small business and for every worker in every single state, including in the electorate of Macquarie that I so proudly represent. We shouldn't need lockdowns, but the government's failure with the vaccine rollout, failing to urgently reach a critical mass, and failure to create a more secure quarantine process has led to it.

As always, workers, small business and the self-employed pay the heaviest price. Yet this government was at first unwilling and then reluctant and now begrudging in stepping up. But they're doing as little as they can to support workers who have lost shifts and as little as they can to support self-employed people, and even that is only because they've been shamed into it. The delay and hesitation causes anxiety and adds to the psychological burden that people are carrying right now in Victoria, but it could be anywhere. I say to the government: you can ease the burden for everyone if you stop hesitating and stop begrudging, and you can alleviate the fear that we all have by getting the vaccine and quarantine programs right. (Time expired)