Labor would:
- Fix the vaccine rollout
- Build dedicated quarantine facilities across the country
- Have an effective public information campaign
- Start making mRNA vaccines in Australia
*For information and resources relevant to your state on COVID-19 and vaccinations, click here.
The details:
1. Fix the rollout by working to increase vaccine supply, setting and meeting clear targets, and opening more vaccination centres.
The Prime Minister should be lobbying harder to get more vaccines into the country. It took him 18 months to pick up the phone to the global head of Pfizer – while other world leaders made dozens of calls. He should be talking to our friends in the Biden Administration and the US Government to find more opportunities to increase supply.
He should be talking to the heads of other vaccine companies like Moderna to bring forward supply. And he should be looking for opportunities to make deals with other allies – like the vaccine swap that South Korea and Israel recently negotiated.
A Labor Government would also set and meet clear vaccination targets to give the Australian people and business owners certainty, so they can make plans based on a clear national vaccination effort.
An Albanese Labor Government would end the blame game with the states and work in genuine partnership to roll out more vaccines more quickly. Mobile clinics could take vaccines to universities, regional towns and public events. More pharmacies could be used to speed up the rollout.
Everyone who lives and works in aged or disability care should have a vaccine brought to them. Elderly people at home should have a vaccine taken to them in their homes. There’s simply no excuse for the delay.
The latest lockdowns in NSW and Victoria started from an unvaccinated frontline worker. They were supposed to be the highest priority. All frontline essential workers should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
2. Build dedicated quarantine facilities across the country.
We have seen outbreak after outbreak from hotel quarantine. Lockdowns in almost every state and territory. Workers losing jobs. Businesses losing profits. People have had enough. We need to stop the virus getting into the community.
If Scott Morrison had built a fit-for-purpose national quarantine system – a responsibility that sits squarely with the Prime Minister – outbreaks would not have happened. There have been 27 leaks from hotel quarantine and zero leaks from federal quarantine facilities. Hotels were built for tourism, not for quarantine. We need dedicated, purpose-built facilities.
We need these facilities now, and we will need them in the future. These facilities are an investment in the future safety and security of the Australian people, and can be used for other emergencies like floods and bushfires. That’s what the National Resilience Centre in Darwin is used for.
3. Have an effective public information campaign.
The advertising we have seen from the government so far has been uninspiring and doesn’t match the creative brilliance Australia is known for.
As a country, we can and must do so much better.
The campaign should include well-known personalities and local community leaders, including culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The Federal Government should also consider incentives for achieving vaccination milestones. Labor is proposing a $300 payment to every Australian citizen and resident who is fully vaccinated by 1 December 2021.
The public also deserves to have clear information about how many vaccines are in the country, and when they can expect to book in for a vaccination.
Misinformation is a threat to the rollout. The Government should be doing more to combat false claims about vaccines and vaccinations, especially the false claims made by members of the Government itself such as Gerard Rennick and George Christensen, and their supporters like Clive Palmer and Craig Kelly.
4. Start making mRNA vaccines – like Pfizer and Moderna – in Australia.
This virus isn’t going away, and when it comes to beating it, we need to be able to stand on our own two feet. We have the best scientists in the world – we should be making these vaccines here.
In Germany, it took them six months to get production of the Pfizer vaccine up and running. In comparison, Australia is dragging its feet.
We should start manufacturing mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna here in Australia.
An Albanese Labor government would make securing mRNA manufacturing capacity the first priority of our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, to not only deliver Australian made mRNA vaccines, but also cutting edge mRNA medicines to treat illnesses including cancer.
Electorate Office
334a Marrickville Rd
Marrickville NSW 2204
Phone: 02 9564 3588
Parliament House Office
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: 02 6277 7700
Electorate Office
334a Marrickville Rd
Marrickville NSW 2204
Phone: 02 9564 3588
Parliament House Office
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: 02 6277 7700
Phone: (02) 9564 3588
Fax: (02) 9564 1734
Email: A.Albanese.MP@aph.gov.au
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which our offices stand and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge the sorrow of the Stolen Generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We also recognise the resilience, strength and pride of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Authorised by Anthony Albanese. 334a Marrickville Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204.