Thursday, 24 February 2022

Ministers statements: COVID-19 vaccination

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:30): I rise to update the house on the government’s vaccination program right across Victoria. Victorians have listened to the science, they have listened to the experts and they have done quite an amazing thing. Through hard work and through the great commitment, inherent logic, good sense and good judgement of the Victorian community, we have become one of the most vaccinated places anywhere in the world. Not by listening to some—one particular person who of course is not here today, getting paid but not working, one member of this house. He might be in the City of Whitehorse, where 92 per cent of people have got vaccinated. He thinks you should be having horse drugs—that is what he thinks you should be on. But in any event, let us not be distracted away from the great work of Victorians by focusing on the fringe, who are captive to all manner of conspiracy theories and all manner of other rabbit holes, wormholes or wherever they spend their time—

A member: Tin hats.

Mr ANDREWS: Tin hats and all that.

Victorians have done a great job. It was 12 months on Tuesday since the state government first became involved in the commonwealth government’s vaccination program. I just wonder where we would be if we had not done literally 50 per cent of the heavy lifting on what is essentially a federal government responsibility. But again, I want to thank every Victorian who has gone out there and got vaccinated—first dose, second dose. If you have not had your third dose yet, please go and get it. Safe, effective, free, they work, they save lives, they take pressure off our hospital system, they keep us open and they are absolutely essential. To every worker who has been involved in the administration of these vaccines, thank you so much. Again, we have achieved an awful lot, not by division, not by conspiracies, not by playing the politics of these things but by staying united, by working together because, as every Victorian knows, when we stick together we can achieve anything.