Statistics released by the Morrison Government show that COVID vaccination rates are seriously lagging behind in the Eden-Monaro, and he has no plan to fix it.
In the Eden-Monaro region, only 18 per cent of people over the age of 15 are fully vaccinated.
To assist vaccine take-up and stimulate the economy, Federal Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to roll up its sleeves in the race to vaccinate Eden-Monaro and provide a one-off $300 payment to every fully-vaccinated Australian.
This support would be a further incentive for people in the Eden Monaro to be fully vaccinated and would deliver a much-needed shot in the arm for businesses, workers and families struggling from lockdowns made necessary by the Morrison Government’s failures with the vaccine rollout.
Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain today called for on the Morrison Government to stop neglecting regional Australians, prioritise measures to vaccinate more people in the Eden-Monaro and introduce a $300 payment to every person who is fully vaccinated by 1 December.
Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain said:
Scott Morrison repeatedly said it’s not a race. It is. It’s a race to vaccinate Australia. It’s a race to vaccinate people in the Snowy Mountains, people living on the Far South Coast, our Snowy Valleys and Yass and Queanbeyan residents.
Supply of the vaccine has been the key issue with Scott Morrison’s botched roll-out. But as more supply comes online, which we know is arriving in the coming months, then providing this incentive is just a common sense thing to do that will also be good for our local economy.
Businesses across the Eden-Monaro are struggling with these seemingly endless lockdowns and border closures which are devastating communities which rely on tourism.
Our Snowy Mountains businesses are doing it especially tough. Last year restrictions meant the snow fields were only able to operate at 50 per cent capacity. This year, with the best snow conditions we’ve seen in years, businesses are expecting profits of 50 per cent less than last year. That’s 25 per cent of their usual winter turnover.
On the coast, the streets are empty and after being resilient through the drought and bushfires, businesses are now going deeper and deeper into debt as they try to stay afloat.
In Queanbeyan, businesses are losing out as people opt to travel to Canberra where there are less restrictions.
Our proposed payments will deliver significant cash stimulus for Eden-Monaro businesses which have paid the price for Scott Morrison’s abject failures on vaccines and quarantine for the past eighteen months.
