Federal Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to roll up its sleeves in the race to vaccinate the nation and provide a one-off $300 payment to every fully-vaccinated Australian.

This support would be a further incentive for Australians to be fully vaccinated and would deliver a much-needed shot in the arm for businesses and workers struggling from lockdowns made necessary by the Morrison Government’s failures with the vaccine rollout.

Vaccinations are a race Australians can no longer afford to lose.

The Morrison Government must make vaccines easily accessible to meet their target to vaccinate 80 per cent of adults.

The faster this is achieved, the faster the recovery as we emerge from lockdowns that are bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars a day from the nation’s finances. 

That’s why Labor is proposing a $300 payment to every Australian citizen and resident who is fully vaccinated by 1 December.

The National Plan to transition Australia’s National COVID-19 Response released last Friday included measures “encouraging uptake through incentives” under Phase B. We think this should be a priority.

These payments will deliver significant cash stimulus for businesses who have paid the price for Scott Morrison’s failures on vaccines and quarantine for the past eighteen months.

The Government has guaranteed that Australia will have more than enough vaccines to meet the 80 per cent target by 1 December. 

When Australia’s COVID response relied on Australians doing the right thing, our country was leading the world. 

Now that Australians are relying on Scott Morrison to do his job and rollout the vaccines, we are coming last in the developed world. 

Scott Morrison had two jobs this year, rolling out vaccines and fixing Australia’s quarantine system. 

While the Prime Minister continues to shirk responsibility, Labor will continue to propose constructive solutions to protect the health of Australians and the economy.