Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

If you listen to the noise coming from the government, they're trying to hold everyone to account except themselves. I think we've heard—I can't quite remember—Mr Morrison finally admit that he's lagging behind in the vaccine rollouts, but let's put the facts on the table. The Morrison-Joyce government failed to deliver on its promise to vaccinate four million Australians by the end of March 2021. Okay, Mr Morrison might have actually acknowledged that he failed to meet that target, but then he was going to vaccinate all the priority groups and care workers by Easter 2021. We know that aged-care workers are not fully vaccinated—and that stops clearly at the feet of Mr Morrison and Senator Colbeck. There was that promise to vaccinate six million Australians by 10 May 2021. And we've now got mandated vaccination of aged-care workers being done by 17 September. I can't see that happening myself. And we were going to make sure that everyone over 70 was vaccinated by winter 2021—we are now just a few days away from spring—and there was that big promise to vaccinate all Australians by October 2021.

These aren't magical numbers made up by the opposition; they are numbers put out there by Mr Morrison. Is it any wonder that we've got vaccine hesitancy in this country when we've got a Prime Minister who can't even meet his own targets? I heard Minister Reynolds talking about the NDIS on the radio this morning. If you listen to her, you would think people with disability are lining up all over the shop and able to get vaccines. That's clearly not the case. After Minister Reynolds had finished trying to hoodwink the Australian community, a mother called up about her child who has a disability and is within the age range to get the vaccine. She said that, despite going everywhere to try and get a vaccine, the earliest she could get one was October. Do you know what Minister Reynolds's response to her was? 'Keep trying'! This is the government that is responsible for the vaccine rollout—and we know that there has been vaccine rationing all over this country.

What's happening right now among First Nations communities in western New South Wales is, frankly, shameful. Sure, the Premier of New South Wales and Mr Morrison can get up about 'six million' but the reality is that that figure needs to be broken down. In western New South Wales, it won't be 30-odd per cent receiving their first jab; it will be nothing like that. It's shameful that the Minister for Aged Care and minister representing the minister for health said in here today that 'they are doing their best'. They should have been on the front foot with First Nations communities, not the back foot. I'd like a map of Australia to show us the appalling rates of vaccination among First Nations people and I'd like to know exactly what the government is doing about it.

In the ACT, a significant number of people under 40 are coming down with the delta strain and a significant number of them are children aged from 12 years. Primary schools and high schools have had to be shut down. In New South Wales, it's the same. If we are not now proactively looking at getting vaccines for that age group, for those aged 12 and up, then, again, Mr Morrison will fail the Australian people. The need is there. We have a disastrous vaccine rollout across this country amongst vulnerable groups and now, clearly, amongst children. Sure, we are now starting to vaccinate children who have some sort of disability or illness. But, frankly, that is not good enough. Other countries are vaccinating children from the age of 12.

And where on earth is Moderna? We have been promised—'its coming, it's coming, it's coming'. I'm sorry, but you have failed at vaccine rollout. You should be ashamed of yourselves and finally admit it.