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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last week, the Life Without Barriers vaccine hub for NDIS participants and disability workers in my electorate was shut with just one day's notice. This sudden closure caused immense distress, given local outbreaks in the disability sector and the appalling rates of vaccination among Australians with a disability. Would this be happening if the Prime Minister had done his job and fully vaccinated this vulnerable cohort by Easter, like he said he would?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for her question, although I respectfully disagree with the presumption contained within it.

We know the Life Without Barriers hub well; it was one of a series of pop-up clinics to service certain parts before they would then move on to other areas once a high vaccination rate had been achieved as a result. They actually did their job—they did their job magnificently. I want to thank everybody involved with the Life Without Barriers hub, which, as the member well knows, has served the Newcastle community well.

I am surprised, however, that either the member was not aware or neglected to mention in her question that a new hub opened on 23 August in Wallsend, Newcastle. Anyone with an existing booking has been advised of the new hub location. This was done to make sure, precisely on the advice of the disability community, that there was additional access in another area within the same region on a more proximate basis. It is unfortunate that that was neglected, either consciously or through other reasons, from the presumption in the question.

I would also add that an additional Newcastle hub will be opening on 30 August—a hub further down, with Coastlink in Woy Woy, will open on 3 September and a hub in Tuggerah will open on 6 September, showing the nature of these hubs. The Life Without Barriers hub in Newcastle operated from 22 June to 20 August. During this time, the provider administered over 5,000 doses. The Commonwealth provider is Aspen Medical. On their advice, and on the basis of the assessment, it was then moved to another point in Newcastle, precisely in line with the intention, the plan and the process to ensure that as many people as possible have the best access as possible, in addition to state clinics and Commonwealth clinics, and in addition to GPs and pharmacies.