TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AM AGENDA WITH LAURA JAYES
WEDNESDAY, 4 AUGUST 2021
SUBJECTS: Lockdown; Labor’s $300 vaccination incentive proposal; Scott Morrison’s failed vaccine rollout; Remote Parliament; Remote learning
LAURA JAYES, HOST: Australians have been told they need to accept there will be COVID cases, hospitalisations and deaths as the country does start to reopen. The Government yesterday released modelling behind the nation's vaccine targets as senior Labor politicians encouraged Sydneysiders to come forward and take the AstraZeneca vaccine. Joining me now live is the Shadow Minister for Education and Women, Tanya Plibersek. Tanya Plibersek, good to see you. Thanks so much for your time.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN: Good morning, Laura.
JAYES: We're now starting to have that conversation - the Government levelling with the Australian people yesterday that even with an 80 per cent vaccination target, there will still be COVID cases, people going to hospital, and even deaths. Have we left it too late to have that conversation?
PLIBERSEK: No Laura, I think it's really important for the Government to be as frank with the Australian people as possible, and releasing the modelling from the Doherty Institute yesterday is an important step in that direction. The take-out message for me is the faster more people get vaccinated, the sooner we can get life back to something like normal - but we're not going to go back to exactly the same as things were before COVID-19 hit Australia. What we need to do is make sure that the sacrifices that people have made, the discipline and kindness they've shown, is rewarded by something better at the other end.
JAYES: You're living in a lockdown at the moment, as are millions of Sydneysiders. Did you see the federal government's embrace of ‘short, sharp lockdowns' moving 'quick and hard' as a repudiation of the NSW Premier yesterday?
PLIBERSEK: I think it's a good thing that the Government has changed its rhetoric on lockdowns because we know that lockdowns have made a big difference - perhaps if we had locked down sooner in Sydney we wouldn't be dealing with a problem on the scale that we've got at the moment. It's good if Scott Morrison is prepared to change his mind. I think we'd be better off if he did a bit more of that, including for example, taking on Labor's suggestion yesterday of a $300 incentive for people to get vaccinated by the first of December.
JAYES: Why $300, though? Why did you land on that figure?
PLIBERSEK: $300 is affordable overall. It's a big amount of money for families that are struggling at the moment. It would make a significant contribution to our economy - we're talking about a $6 billion stimulus to our economy at a time when small businesses, in particular, are desperately in need of customers spending money in shops and other businesses. I think it's an important contribution for Australians to make. Now, we know many Australians have already been vaccinated, and they've done it for their own health and the health of their family, the health of their community, because they want to look after other Australians. They would also benefit from this payment as an acknowledgement that they've already done the right thing. But this would get that last group of hesitant people - the ones who are either a bit worried, or a bit lazy, or a bit disorganised - who haven't got vaccinated, it might get them into the doctor's surgery or into the vaccination hub. And if we can get those numbers up, then we get to reopen, we get back to normal faster.
JAYES: What do you say to those that say 'this is waste of money'? Indeed, the Prime Minister said yesterday in Question Time: 'it is a bad idea'. Why would you pay people who have already got vaccinated? There's 12.6 million doses that have been divvied out.
PLIBERSEK: Well he thinks anything that is not his idea is a bad idea. This is an acknowledgement - if we pay people who've already been vaccinated, it's an acknowledgement that they've done the right thing already, and they should be acknowledged for doing that. Like I say, as well as encouraging hesitant people to get vaccinated, this puts a significant amount of money into the economy as additional stimulus just when we need it. Don't forget, these lockdowns are costing the Australian economy about $2 billion a week. So, $6 billion to get people vaccinated to a standard where we can better open up the Australian economy, that seems like good value for money to me.
JAYES: Did Labor do any modelling at how fast the vaccine rollout would be with this incentive?
PLIBERSEK: We say that we would give this incentive to people who are vaccinated by the first of December. What we hope is that a majority of Australians would take up that opportunity. We know that - we've heard from the Doherty Institute and others in recent days that we need to have those higher rates of vaccination in order for the community to be safer.
JAYES: The Prime Minister said yesterday that the earlier problems with the vaccine rollout had now fixed. I've looked at the horizons this morning, it actually doesn't show any difference in the supply. It shows Pfizer will be coming on 2 million a week in October. AstraZeneca was meant to be phased out by October but it now seems that that is going to be bumped up in numbers. So, that's the one small change. If the problems have been fixed, should the vaccine just now be available to anyone that wants it?
PLIBERSEK: Look I hope the Prime Minister's right. I hope the problems are fixed, because this is too important for our country to keep getting it wrong. But it is the same Prime Minister who said that all aged care workers would be vaccinated by Easter, and we have outbreaks in nursing homes in Sydney right now, because of partially vaccinated or unvaccinated workers. We've got aged care residents in hospital. We've got serious problems because the Prime Minister was wrong about that. I hope he's right but I don't have a lot of confidence.
JAYES: You have a younger, highly-mobile constituency. The under-40s have been identified just yesterday in the same modelling as 'super-spreaders'. I mean, shouldn't they have the opportunity to get vaccinated now?
PLIBERSEK: Yes, and I think as soon as it's possible they should be talking to their doctors and getting vaccinated. Honestly, I've spoken to so many young people who are desperate to get access to the vaccine. I have a constituency where a lot of people live on their own, they are lonely because of lockdown. I've got so many businesses that just barely limped through the last lockdown, and they don't know that they'll survive this lockdown. So wherever it is possible, I would be urging people to talk to their doctor if they've got any questions at all. I had my second jab of AstraZeneca yesterday. I'm not in the target age group that - ATAGI said some time ago that it should be for people over the age of 60. I'm not over the age of 60 yet, but I had my first dose and I talked to my doctor abut the minute risks associated with AstraZeneca, and I decided that I felt safer and happier vaccinated. Not just for myself, but for my 89 year old Mum, and my 89 year old mother-in-law, who I want to be able to see, and see safely; for my family, for my community. I thought of it as a minute and reasonable risk to take, particularly for someone like me who flies all the time - flying is a blood clot risk. I was on the pill for years - the pill's a blood clot risk. I made a decision after talking to my doctor and I wish others would do the same.
JAYES: Indeed. Now, you are in Sydney, Parliament's sitting in Canberra, of course. We know that it's a pretty empty chamber when it comes to Question Time. You've decided to stay in Sydney in lockdown with your constituents - how were those decisions were made as to who would go, and who would stay? Do you think Sydney MPs should be staying in Sydney if we're all in this together?
PLIBERSEK: No, I think it's important that the Parliament continues to sit, and I'm very grateful to my colleagues who went down to Canberra, who isolated in hotels for two weeks, so they could attend Parliament and keep our democracy going. I thank them for making that sacrifice. For me, I wanted to be here with my constituents. This is one of the most difficult times that we've gone through together as a community, and I wanted to be here and with them, and part of that. I've also got three kids who are learning from home so I wanted to make sure there was a bit of learning going on and not a month of Netflix, to be honest.
JAYES: How is homeschooling? Any tips?
PLIBERSEK: I've never been more grateful to people who choose teaching as a career. I thank them one and all, and thanks to all the school staff who've made it possible. Thank you and I can't wait to get back into the classrooms.
JAYES: No criticism of your own children there?
PLIBERSEK: They're gorgeous, they're doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances.
JAYES: Yeah, and millions more across the state are as well. We've particularly got those HSC students in mind as well. Tanya Plibersek, thanks so much for your time.
PLIBERSEK: Thank you so much Laura.
ENDS
