Westpac wants to help with vaccine rollout

CANBERRA, AAP – Westpac chief executive Peter King wants the corporate sector to be allowed to step in and help Australia’s flagging vaccine rollout.

The bank boss said vaccinations were critical to getting lives back to normal and warned closing international borders and relying on lockdowns in response to outbreaks was unsustainable.

“I understand there are varying views among Australians with regards to vaccines,” he wrote in The Australian on Monday.

“But from my perspective, given the need to help protect our families and friends when further outbreaks occur, as well as the economic costs to communities, we need as many Australians as possible to get vaccinated as fast as possible.”

His comments reflect a growing frustration by some in the business community as Australia lags behind other nations and the Morrison government comes under fire for delivering mixed messages on the rollout.

The government has been accused of contributing to the patchy vaccine take-up by repeatedly suggesting the national rollout is not a race.

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said Victoria’s fourth coronavirus lockdown proved the rollout was now a race, with growing fears of an outbreak spreading through an aged care home.

“There has been a degree of complacency, not just by the government, but perhaps among Australians,” he told ABC News on Monday.

Mr Shorten said waiting until an outbreak occurred before seeking a vaccination was not the right approach.

“Don’t wait until a lockdown to get vaccinated,” he said.

“Simple common sense says if there is COVID anywhere, it could affect any of us at any time.”

Mr Shorten questioned the motives of people who refused vaccines, with 15 per cent of aged care residents declining to give their consent.

“Even if you think you’re bulletproof, just think about your neighbour down the hallway or your worker who’s caring for you,” he said.

“This is not just about yourself, it’s about the community, and we’ve got to think about the collective good not just your own particular world view.”

Mr Shorten also challenged the government’s language around reaching vaccine rollout milestones, saying two doses were needed for proper protection.

“Don’t BS the people, if a proper vaccination is two then call it what it is,” he said.

“Don’t pretend that by people having doses then somehow the job is done. The job is not done until you have two vaccinations.”

More than 4.1 million vaccines have been administered across Australia, but only about 500,000 people have received both doses of the jab.