Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's good to provide the House with an update on what's been happening in Shortland over the last few months—probably the most trying few months many of us have lived through.

Although it's fantastic that we're making real progress with vaccinations, I want to draw to the attention of the House the experience of one of my younger constituents as a direct result of the policy failures from both the Commonwealth and state governments. The regional vaccination hub for the Hunter region is a few blocks from my electorate office in Belmont. It's been an integral part of the rollout, and I thank all the workers at the hub for their tireless efforts. I've received my jabs at the hub, and all the feedback I've received from constituents has been very positive. However, at the height of the Sydney lockdown, the New South Wales government diverted 5,500 Pfizer doses from the Belmont hub to greater Sydney. The government stole my region's vaccines because of their incompetence in not locking down Sydney soon enough. No-one in my area begrudged HSC students in Sydney having access to vaccines, but the key point is, because the Morrison Government failed to do their job of getting enough vaccine doses, the New South Wales government felt that they were forced to make a decision to steal vaccines from my region to divert them to Sydney.

This had a huge impact on my constituents. For example, Lauren is 18 and is about to start her HSC exams. She had her appointment at the Belmont hub cancelled because her doses were sent to Sydney. Because of the Delta outbreak and her imminent exam, Lauren, like many of her cohort, elected to proceed with getting vaccinated as soon as possible and had AstraZeneca. Her vaccination experience was made worse when she went to get her second dose, as she was accidentally given Pfizer. The diversion of the Hunter's vaccines to Sydney and its impact on my community, as well as this shocking mix-up with Laura's vaccines, should not have happened at all. But because of the Morrison government's clear failure to plan last year for the vaccine rollout, my constituents have been living through months of chaos.

Another constituent emailed me about his daughter's experiences. He wrote, 'My daughter was booked in at Belmont for the vaccination and was advised that her vaccination had been cancelled and given to high school students in Sydney at a private school. Her original appointment was the day after the vaccines were sent to Sydney. The government's decision to give the vaccine to the wealthier Liberal Party seats is a disgrace and un-Australian and something that should be exposed and not forgotten.' Remember the Prime Minister's 'it's not a race' joke? Well, the vaccination rollout is a race, Prime Minister, and because you and your government have spectacularly failed to organise the most basic things such as securing enough vaccines for the population, vulnerable Australians like Lauren, a HSC student under immense pressure already, have suffered. The vaccine rollout has been labelled as the greatest policy disaster since World War II, and I and many of my constituents agree.

I want to use the remainder of my time to pay tribute to a comrade from Shortland who has recently passed away. Paul Daly was a true believer in every sense of the word and a life member of the Labor Party. Paul won the ultimate accolade from former member for Shortland Jill Hall, who described him as one of the hardest-working party workers and volunteers she had ever come across. Paul helped Jill in many elections, and I'm proud and humbled that he campaigned for me in 2016 and 2019. Given his Irish background, he was a committed republican and worked tirelessly on the Yes campaign for the 1999 referendum. Unfortunately, we didn't achieve this important step in our progress as a nation then, but his passion for an Australian republic, especially with an Australian as our head of state, not a foreign monarch, lives on in all of us in the Labor Party. Paul is survived by his beautiful wife, Carmel, and his children and grandchildren. Carmel has asked that I especially acknowledge Whiddon Gardens at Redhead for the care provided to Paul in the final part of his life. My sincere condolences go to Carmel and all his family on the passing of a true gentleman and a true servant of the Australian Labor Party. Rest in peace, Paul.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 11:4 4