Tuesday, 20 September 2022

 Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:37): (1978) My question is to the Minister for Health and concerns the ongoing vaccine mandates. A constituent has worked for years within VicRoads, happily serving up to 500 customers face to face every week. He followed COVID-19 guidelines and received two mandated vaccinations to keep his job. Recently the constituent successfully applied for a job in another government office, the Department of Transport. However, for this department the constituent required a booster shot before his contract could be signed. It is farcical that in the new role the constituent faces just a handful of people but requires the additional vaccination. The massive workforce shortage in Victoria is unsurprising, with the varying mandates across government departments. My question to the health minister is: when will these ridiculous mandates be dumped, given the workforce shortage, the high degree of vaccination and the limited capacity of vaccinations to stop the spread of the virus?