Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to condemn the flyers of Clive Palmer. He is spreading anti-vexer lies and nonsense across my electorate. My electorate is already feeling vulnerable and anxious about the vaccine rollout. He has been warned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for his misinformation. I am telling people across my electorate that if they receive one of these flyers in the mail they should bin it immediately. Our community has borne the brunt of the pandemic and we certainly do not need Clive Palmer showing up in our letterboxes spreading lies. It would be a better use of his wealth to contribute to the public health campaign, to get people vaccinated, instead of inciting fear. As I said, if you have received one of these flyers in your mailbox, please bin it.

We have anxiety. We know that we have a failed rollout from the Morrison government. At this stage, we've only got about three per cent of our population vaccinated. In contrast, the US has achieved 45.6 per cent vaccination and the UK 80 per cent. This slow, complacent rollout has seen disastrous effects, particularly in my state of Victoria, where we have seen too many lockdowns at too great a cost. If the Morrison government had simply rolled up its sleeves and got on with the job, we could have avoided lockdowns and quarantine outbreaks. Did you know we've had 24 outbreaks from quarantine? This is a federal responsibility. The vaccine is our path out of COVID and we need to race towards having as many people vaccinated as possible.