Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some opposite are trying to pretend that the pandemic is over, trying to say that it's time to celebrate and that we should all get out and have a merry Christmas. Well, it's not over. There are still COVID clusters, particularly in our schools and our primary schools. They say it keeps bubbling along in Victoria. Well, it's more than just a bubble. Thirty-six of the 51 clusters in Victoria are in our schools. The biggest cluster in the state is Holy Rosary School, a school in my electorate, a primary school. We shouldn't be surprised that it's in our primary schools. Primary school children aren't eligible for the vaccine. I know the government is waiting on the science and for the approval, but the frustrated parents and teachers are worried that their children could be infected or that they'll be asked to isolate. So what is this government doing to support them? Where's the support for the schools? Where's the support for the teachers? Where's the support for the parents who are isolating, caring for sick children or children who've been exposed? This pandemic is not over, yet the government wants to pretend it is, close the chapter and move on. We cannot move on, not while we have sick children, not while we have people isolating, not while we have schools closed. We need to be doing more to help those in need.