Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that the past eight weeks of lockdown have hit the people of Reid hard. Four out of six local government areas in my community are now subject to some of the harshest restrictions we have seen. From the owners of small businesses that may never open their doors again to the individuals just surviving on COVID-19 disaster payments, people are hurting. And, while we all appreciate the need for lockdowns, we cannot deny the serious impact that they are having on the mental health of individuals. All of us know that there is one way out, and that is through getting vaccinated.

Australia is a vaccination nation, and each day, more and more Australians are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated. More people are getting vaccinated to protect themselves and their family members. More people are refusing to listen to the sewer of pseudoscience on social media that peddles misinformation. Let's be clear: our COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and they are the way out of lockdown. The reality is that COVID-19 is not going anywhere. We must truly learn to live with it. That means staying the course and returning to normality once we hit those 70 and 80 per cent double-dose rates. Things are incredibly tough for the people of Reid, but we are a strong and resilient community, and we will get through this.