TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS WITH ALAN JONES
THURSDAY, 5 AUGUST 2021
SUBJECTS: Vaccine rollout; Sydney lockdown; Message to HSC students.
ALAN JONES, PRESENTER: Well, let's go to our female panel. They are a breath of fresh air in a very, very difficult and confused world. From the Liberal Party, or the Government, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, and Labor’s Tanya Plibersek. Ladies, thank you for your time. Concetta I will go to you first because I raised here with both you and Tanya, it might be the last week or the week before, this necessary issue of vaccination - people writing to me, and I told you this, about the impossibility of getting access to vaccines in those eight local government areas in south and south-west Sydney. Tanya has been very critical of the vaccine rollout. Now I've had chemists or community pharmacies writing to me saying in a very multicultural world, the community pharmacy is often the first point of reference but the community pharmacies, who wanted to join in the vaccine rollout, haven't been invited to participate. Concetta, I know as a Senator, you are a patron for a number of these areas in those seats in western and south-western Sydney. Following this discussion, you raised this, I know, with Health Minister. Tell us what has now happened? Have these people got better access to vaccinations?
SENATOR CONCETTA FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: Yes they do Alan. Any pharmacy that wants to be part of the rollout that fits the criteria can participate. And we know how important, and you're absolutely correct, how important community pharmacies are especially in these areas. And we're pleased that over 3,000 pharmacies are on board and in these local government areas in south-western Sydney, we have now about 48 pharmacies that have been fast-tracked and we are progressively rolling out this program and I'm very, very pleased about the uptake in relation to it.
JONES: Okay. Well let’s go to Tanya because Concetta, Tanya, see, we're talking about the here and now. We all would have thought if we wanted vaccination, this would have been done ages ago. She wrote to me, Concetta, on the 25th of July, with a staggering figure that there are only 118 community pharmacies vaccinating across the country at that date and the AstraZeneca vaccines will only be available to these pharmacies by mid-August and Moderna from September. Tanya Plibersek is this is stroll out or a roll out?
TANYA PLIBERSEK, SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN: Well, I think stroll out is quite right Alan, it's so disappointing. I mean, Concetta spoke about 3,000, I think, pharmacies that are on board. I’d ask her how many of those pharmacies are actually vaccinating people as we speak? This has been months and we know, Alan, that the Government from the beginning did not make enough deals with enough companies to get enough doses, to get the jabs in people's arms. And we see the results of that now in Sydney, I think we're in our sixth week of lockdown. In south-western Sydney, so many cases, so much confusion, so, so much heartache, so many businesses struggling. That is the fault of the slow rollout.
JONES: I mean Tanya look, confusion - I've got this correspondence, I'm sure you have every day. See Concetta, Gladys Berejiklian has been saying she wants six million vaccines by the end of August. That's what she said yesterday. Today is the 5th, that would be 220,000 jabs a day in New South Wales. Is our freedom hanging on this Concetta?
FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: Sadly Alan yes, people are suffering from lockdown fatigue, they're living in fear and they're wondering when it's all going to end. But they're also, at the same time, comparing us with other countries that are still getting COVID cases, but it getting on with life and are opening up.
JONES: I know, don’t start me. I mean Tanya, you're not in government therefore you don't have all this stuff in front of you, from your observation what do you think we're being told about the way out of lockdown? Scott Morrison said 70 to 80 per cent vaccination. 70 to 80 per cent when no country, or two little countries in the world, have reached any of those figures - Malta I think is at 87. And on the last figures available with the flu vaccine, I remember telling everyone on air to get the jab, only 71 per cent of Australians took the flu jab. But Berejiklian seems to be saying it's case numbers and vaccination levels. Can you understand, Tanya Plibersek, the utter confusion and disappointment within the public?
PLIBERSEK: I think people are confused and they're frightened, and they're worried about themselves, their families, their businesses, their communities, but the way through this Alan is to get more people vaccinated. We're at 15 per cent now, we're about 80th in the world for the speed of our vaccination rollout -
JONES: Just on that Tanya -
PLIBERSEK: It’s so disappointing because we did so well in the early days.
JONES: Can I interrupt you though Tanya? As you know, I've got letters from people in regional New South Wales, and I spoke to Helen Dalton earlier this week, they want to be vaccinated.
PLIBERSEK: Yes, yeah.
JONES: They've had the vaccine taken from them and brought into Sydney. I mean, God help us.
PLIBERSEK: Yes. This is the frustrating thing Alan. Someone described it to me as ‘gaslighting’ today. The Government's saying “go out, get vaccinated” and then they try and book an appointment to get vaccinated and they're told no, not here, not this week, five weeks’ time, not sure where. It’s not a lack of willingness on behalf of a lot of people, they don’t know where to go to get the vax.
JONES: Absolutely. That's it. That's it. You're dead right. Concetta, look, you and your staff, I know this woman does a hell of a job as a Senator for New South Wales, you've been direct calling - as I'm sure members of Tanya's Party have been because these are basically Labor seats - but you've been ringing households in these electorates. How are they managing Concetta on 750 bucks a week with no end in sight?
FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: Alan, it's very hard. Their livelihoods are being impacted by politicians and bureaucrats who still draw a salary lockdown or no lockdown. And that's why I think Alan it's time for us as politicians to lead by example and do take a pay cut.
JONES: Absolutely, I agree. I mean Tanya these are your electorates, I know out there, Labor electorates. Two questions to you - what are they telling you? But can I just ask you about an eight cases in Melbourne and a seven-day lockdown? With the World Health Organization telling us today that 55 people across Australia are serious, 99 per cent of active cases are not in the ICU. How do businesses, Tanya, do business when they don't know whether a government tomorrow isn't going to intervene and lock them down?
PLIBERSEK: Well, Alan, I think what we found out in Sydney is that a short, sharp lockdown is preferable to the weeks that we've been experiencing, and I know it's awful to go back into lockdown, people of Melbourne have had such a lot of it in the last year and a half. But shorter, sharper is better than longer, and that's what we're experiencing in Sydney.
JONES: But if you were the Prime Minister. If you were the Prime Minister, would you just stand up and say ‘this will happen’? Or would you have understanding of the waste that business is facing, the demoralisation of families, kids who can't go to school, the social interaction that education brings - all this being denied to kids and the damage that's likely being done to them emotionally and psychologically - shouldn't we have a political leader just saying gently now ‘listen look, there is hope out there. We've got a very good health system and if you get sick make sure you see a doctor, talk to your mum and dad and look down the track’, blah blah blah. Who, I ask this, last question, I asked you both last week. Tanya, can you give them some hope?
PLIBERSEK: Well I do want to send a very special message to the HSC kids who are really facing it right now. They don't know what's going to happen with their trial exams, they don’t know what's happening with their final exams. The message to them is: we know you've been working really hard, next year's going to be better, life won't always be like this. Thank you for all the hard work you've been doing. And remember to thank your teachers and your mum and dad as well for the support they’ve been showing you this year.
JONES: Concetta, a note of hope, could you give it to us?
FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: Well, Alan the only thing is that we have to make the decision and accept that we cannot achieve zero cases. We have to learn to live with this virus and sadly though Alan the way things are going I have, I fear that the cure will be worse than the disease, given the decimation of livelihoods, and especially on our mental well-being.
JONES: Absolutely Concetta. That's a good way to finish. I think we're reaching the point where the cure is worse than the disease. Always lovely to talk to you both. See you next week. Thank you Concetta, and thank you Tanya.
ENDS
