Thursday, 9 September 2021

 Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing) (15:03): I rise to update the house on the Andrews Labor government’s rollout of vaccinations to Victorians at risk of homelessness. People without stable accommodation are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus, so we have taken steps to remove barriers to accessing the vaccines. In July this year we established pop-up clinics running in the Melbourne CBD, Collingwood and Footscray, and since July we have set up dozens more pop-up sites across Melbourne’s inner north and the west, as well as in regional areas such as Geelong and Ballarat.

We have also set up mobile vaccination teams that are going to sites with large numbers of people experiencing homelessness, such as drop-in centres, crisis accommodation facilities, rooming houses and the like. Some of these sites have already completed the second vaccine dose for their clients, with the remaining sites scheduled to do so over the next two months.

In addition to this program, we are also rolling out onsite vaccination services to public housing high-rise towers. From early June of this year we have had onsite vaccinations offered at high-rises, initially prioritising estates where we have had exposures such as at Fitzroy, Collingwood, North Melbourne and Flemington. The program has been now expanded to all 57 high-rises across Melbourne so that all residents are given a chance to get vaccinated to help protect themselves, their families and their community. We will continue with the rollout of these programs to ensure some of the most vulnerable members of our community have easy access to these vaccines, keeping themselves, their families and indeed all Victorians safe. I commend the work that has been done by the department in this respect.