Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking my fellow Victorians. The daily test numbers and vaccine numbers in Victoria are extraordinary. Victorians are rising to this challenge. They are doing it not just for themselves but for their friends, their families and each other, and for all Australians. I want to thank each and every Victorian who has done the right thing.

But it is extremely frustrating. This lockdown is devastating for businesses. There's absolutely no doubt about how all of the Victorian MPs in this place would be hearing from businesses about how difficult this lockdown is. But we are in this lockdown because we have a quarantine system which—even though the Prime Minister says it is 99.9 per cent effective—is still resulting in billion-dollar lockdowns because of that little bit that is leaking out. We need to fix it.

It's also extremely frustrating that the vaccine rollout is being treated as if going slow were good enough. It is not. It is absolutely a race, and the Prime Minister shouldn't be echoing that ridiculous sentiment that it is not a race. It is a race for Victoria, right now, to get out of this lockdown.

Finally, it is so frustrating for Victorian businesses that they have no safety net from this federal government to support them through this lockdown. JobKeeper was an outstanding health measure because it meant that people didn't have to choose between doing the right thing and going to work. We need support. We need the federal government to come and support Victorians and not ignore them like they are.