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Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination program is well under way, with more than 500,000 Australians receiving a free jab as part of the Phase 1 rollout.
There have been more than 507,000 vaccines at the close of business on Friday. 329,000 vaccines have been administered in state and territory vaccination clinics, 97,000 vaccines have been administered in general practices and more than 80,000 aged care residents have been vaccinated.
Our GP’s have played a vital role in this expansion and have not only been vaccinating over the week, but many practices are continuing to vaccinate on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
Over 1,100 general practices, GP-led respiratory clinics and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services are already providing vaccinations to people eligible in Phase 1b.
This will grow to a broad national footprint of more than 4,000 general practices by the end of April. These will be complemented by more than 100 Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics and more than 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services.
The roll out for the next week and further expansion is now well underway. The first of the 50 million Australian made CSL doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have already been distributed and will now be distributed on an ongoing basis.
As part of our Vaccination Strategy, Australia placed an absolute priority on sovereign domestic vaccine production at CSL in August last year.
That decision has ensured that Australia is one of the few countries with strong, clear domestic supplies going forwards.

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that eviction moratoriums are ending today in NSW, and on Sunday in Victoria and WA, and that renters in numerous states are facing uncertainty, mounting debt and homelessness.
Senator Faruqi said:
“We must extend eviction bans until the government has a plan for rental debt relief. Without one, our government is condemning countless people to homelessness.
“It’s unrealistic to assume that people, facing a decrease in JobSeeker and still recovering from a pandemic, will be able to afford extra rent on top of their basic necessities.
“According to Equity Economics, there will be a nine per cent national rise in homelessness this year, and double that in New South Wales. The government must act now.
“Without a plan for rental debt relief, ending eviction moratoriums means one thing and one thing only – worsening the homelessness crisis.
“This is more proof that homelessness is not inevitable, but a deliberate choice by our neoliberal government.”

Australian Greens Anti-racism spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that numerous investigations published today by ABC, Nine and Guardian Australia on far-right and neo-Nazi organising have underscored the need for urgent action to tackle the violent far-right.
Senator Faruqi said:
“These investigations are disturbing but not surprising. We know that the far-right is organising in Australia, and has links to international extremist groups. But the government has its head in the sand.
“This makes ASIO’s decision to back away from the term ‘right-wing extremism’ look even more naive and absurd.
“Far-right groups are on the march and trying to recruit across the country, including by appealing to anti-lockdown sentiments. Some of these groups and individuals openly praise the Christchurch terrorist and are rabidly Islamophobic and antisemitic.
“There must be a zero tolerance approach. Laws on extremism and hate speech must be enforced and strengthened. Governments must unambiguously commit to anti-racism. Community programs to counter the far-right require significant investment. There is no time to waste.”

If the Resource Super Profits Tax had not been watered down and then repealed, it would have raised $34.6 billion dollars, enough to give free dental care to every Australian by including dental in Medicare.
A new costing by the Parliamentary Budget Office, provided to the Greens, shows that the decision to give in to the big mining corporations and billionaires by axing the original “mining tax” has cost the Australian budget $34.6 billion, and bringing a super profits tax back would raise $12.7 billion in the first year.
The cost of providing free dental care to the country by including dental in Medicare has been costed by the PBO at $29 billion over nine years.
The richest three mining billionaires Gina Rinehart, Twiggy Forrest and Clive Palmer saw their wealth grow by 141% or $35 billion between them during the pandemic.
The mining industry invested $20 million in a campaign to overturn the tax, and provide millions of dollars in donations to Liberal, Labor and Nationals. The return on their investment was 1,727% and growing every year that we leave their super profits tax free.
Quotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP:
“Billionaires and big mining corporations are not paying their fair share of tax.”
“If we had the original mining tax, we could have free dental care for everyone.
“Politicians in the establishment parties give billionaires and big corporations too much special treatment. They rely on their donations, and as a result, don’t make them pay their fair share of tax.
“The next election will be closer than most people think.
“If less than a thousand people changed their vote at the last election, the Greens would be in the balance of power.
“At the next election, a minority parliament is likely, and if voters put the Greens in the balance of power, we will make the billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax.
“While everyday people are struggling to afford to go to the dentist, Gina Reinhart, Twiggy Forrest and Clive Palmer increased their wealth by $35 billion during the pandemic.
“By making the billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax, we can make life better for everyone.”