Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Simone, from my electorate, has to drive the youngest of her five children to Westmead Hospital in Sydney three times a week for dialysis. She had her vaccine appointment cancelled and redirected to a Sydney student. My office had to intervene to restore her appointment, because Simone feared she may infect the immunosuppressed children she regularly comes into contact with. Isn't it the Prime Minister's fault that he failed to order enough vaccine when it counted? (Time expired)

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, and I'm very pleased the vaccination was able to be delivered. Like all members of this place who deal with the urgent requests of their constituents, we are very pleased that the health minister or various other ministries and portfolios—where members need that assistance to support their constituents, members around this place know that that is provided, and it always should be, particularly when it comes to the health needs of those in our community.

I don't accept the assertion that was put forward by the member. As I explained in my answer to the last question, there were no doses redirected from GPs or pharmacists or any of the primary care networks as a result of the government's national vaccination program. As the member would be aware, the New South Wales government had made a decision about redirecting from state clinics, and our government has taken notice to re-phase supplies, which means that those doses are going straight back into those regions, like in the member's electorate. The state government had made a decision to reallocate those doses; that was against the advice of our government. We continued to provide that support. I again thank those members who raised those issues with the health minister and I, and we were able to ensure that they were redressed and that they were able to get those doses back into the regions. I would have thought that the opposition would welcome that. Once again, this leader of the Labor Party is full of negativity—all opposition, no substance.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I go to the next question: when questions don't mention the Leader of the Opposition it's not an invitation for the Prime Minister, at the end of his answer, to make a political statement. I've made that point a number of times now.