Thursday, 9 September 2021

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows)

My call is for more Pfizer vaccines to be provided where they are needed most.

Melbourne’s north and particularly communities in the electorate of Broadmeadows must be priorities in distributing vaccines as a matter of utmost urgency.

The Premier has demanded 340 000 extra doses of Pfizer vaccines for Victoria to rectify a secret deal between the Australian and New South Wales governments delaying Victoria’s recovery and undermining trust in this vital national partnership.

Today marks the worst day of the delta outbreak in Victoria. More than half the outbreaks are in Melbourne’s north.

This is why this region must be a priority for Pfizer jabs, to address vaccine hesitancy, according to local health and community representatives.

Ironically, Broadmeadows is where more than 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are being manufactured for home and abroad.

The most critical lesson from the pandemic is how our lives and livelihoods are intertwined.

The vaccine rollout was always our best way out of the pandemic. Three months ago in Parliament I called for the Australian government to supercharge jabs in arms, warning of the dangers of delays so a golden opportunity was not missed. The Australian government knew winter was coming but maintained there was no race for vaccines. The race has always been to save lives and livelihoods by delivering vaccines with the utmost urgency.

The New South Wales Minister for Health defined the hunt for vaccines as almost like the Hunger Games; that is how out of control this vaccine rollout became. The triumph of politics over rational decision-making harms all of us. This is the critical change we need as a nation.

I thank the Victorian government for establishing a walk-up centre for vaccines at the Town Hall Broadmeadows, drive through centre at the old Ford Motor Company site, and COVID testing hub at the Broadmeadows Leisure Centre. Vaccines provide the path to lifting lockdowns. Please get tested and vaccinated as priority one.

My call, as always, is to create opportunity from adversity. We must change politics for a stronger, smarter, fairer future.