❓ Question regarding WA's vaccination rollout progress and healthcare worker vaccination status. The Minister provides data and criticises the Liberal Party's support for the vaccination campaign.
AnsweredQoN 796Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — VACCINATIONS
796. Ms C.M. COLLINS to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to keeping Western Australians safe and
ensuring that our health system is well prepared for when we reach 90 per cent
vaccination status and ease our controlled border.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on how WA is tracking with regard to the state's
vaccination rollout?
(2) Can the minister please advise the house how many
workers in our health system have committed to keeping Western Australians
safe?
796. Ms C.M. COLLINS to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to keeping Western Australians safe and
ensuring that our health system is well prepared for when we reach 90 per cent
vaccination status and ease our controlled border.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on how WA is tracking with regard to the state's
vaccination rollout?
(2) Can the minister please advise the house how many
workers in our health system have committed to keeping Western Australians
safe?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
would like to thank the member for Hillarys for the question and for her
support for the Roll Up for WA campaign to
get everyone vaccinated. It is the only way that we are going to stay safe. Western Australians are doing an incredible job to ensure our community is safe,
rolling up for WA at our state-run clinics and at general practitioners,
pharmacies and respiratory clinics to get themselves vaccinated. As the Premier
mentioned a short while ago, the latest figures are that we have an 83.7 per
cent first dose rate and 70.8 per cent double dosed. We know that it is
desperately important that our crucial workers in our community, our essential workers, get vaccinated also, and this is no
more important than for our healthcare workers.
That is the reason I am very proud to report today that of the 14 368 tier 1
workers—those working in the most exposed areas—the
number of workers who have chosen to either resign or complete their time at
the department is 19, or 0.13 per cent. Of the over 42 500 tier 2 and tier 3
workers, just 33 will be leaving the service. That means that 52 people out of
over 53 000 healthcare workers in WA will not be working with us into the
future. That is 0.098 per cent. It is an outstanding result that goes to show
the commitment that our doctors, nurses, allied health and other frontline
healthcare workers have to making sure that we keep Western Australians safe.
WA has done more to vaccinate its
population than any other state. The commonwealth was originally assigned to do
67 per cent of the overall doses in WA, with the state doing just 33 per cent.
Instead, Western Australia has delivered 50 per cent of the vaccines in Western
Australia to the commonwealth's 50 per cent—proportionately
higher than any other state in Australia. This is an important observation that
the Auditor General made today.
It is extraordinary that with all
this effort going on in the community, there is one group of people that is not
supporting the Roll Up for WA campaign. I have been doing a little bit of maths
today, looking at the Liberal shadow Minister for Health's social media
posts for the year.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members!
Mr R.H. COOK : The member for
Vasse has been busy posting over 600 social media posts in the last 12 months;
there were 320 Twitter posts and 290 Facebook posts. Members, in how many of
those some 600 posts has the member for Vasse encouraged Western Australians to
roll up for WA and get vaccinated? None.
Point of Order
Mr V.A.
CATANIA : I have a point of order.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : The point of order is to be heard in silence, please.
Mr V.A. CATANIA : I do not
see how the member for Vasse's Facebook posts have anything to do with
the question . Under standing order 78, there is no relevance.
The SPEAKER : There is no
point of order. Sit down.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : I am sure that
everyone is interested to know who is supporting the Roll Up for WA campaign. I
will say that the Leader of the Opposition is providing a great example for the
community through some very positive posts—not so much her Liberal
Party colleagues. I did a bit of a review of Liberal Party posts on Facebook to
see how many of those over the last 12 months have encouraged Western Australians
to get vaccinated—three! Such is the effort by the Liberal Party to get
everyone vaccinated. This is the political party —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member
for North West Central, you are running out of warnings and you may just get
the leave pass that you are desiring today if you keep this up, so I hope that
you have not got a question.
Mr R.H. COOK : Madam Speaker,
thank you very much, and I apologise for the interruptions. They are very
sensitive today.
Despite
the efforts from the Leader of the Opposition, we have the Liberal Party. This
is the same party that tried to tear
down Western Australia's borders when we were at our most vulnerable.
It is an absolute disgrace. It puts itself ahead of the Western Australian
community all the way along, trying to find political gain at Western Australia's loss. Have Liberal members suggested that Western Australians roll up to
get vaccinated? No. Have they done anything to support the regional rollout?
Have they called on the federal government to take responsibility for
vaccinating Aboriginal people? The Liberal Party is a disgrace. The shadow
Attorney General is publicly opposing the
mandating scheme. The spokesperson for the Leader of the Liberal Party is
encouraging anti-vaxxer protesters to intimidate and bully members of
Parliament when coming into this place, and the shadow Minister for Health has
not put out one positive social media post encouraging people to roll up for
WA. Thank goodness the Western Australian community are ignoring you
all.
would like to thank the member for Hillarys for the question and for her
support for the Roll Up for WA campaign to
get everyone vaccinated. It is the only way that we are going to stay safe. Western Australians are doing an incredible job to ensure our community is safe,
rolling up for WA at our state-run clinics and at general practitioners,
pharmacies and respiratory clinics to get themselves vaccinated. As the Premier
mentioned a short while ago, the latest figures are that we have an 83.7 per
cent first dose rate and 70.8 per cent double dosed. We know that it is
desperately important that our crucial workers in our community, our essential workers, get vaccinated also, and this is no
more important than for our healthcare workers.
That is the reason I am very proud to report today that of the 14 368 tier 1
workers—those working in the most exposed areas—the
number of workers who have chosen to either resign or complete their time at
the department is 19, or 0.13 per cent. Of the over 42 500 tier 2 and tier 3
workers, just 33 will be leaving the service. That means that 52 people out of
over 53 000 healthcare workers in WA will not be working with us into the
future. That is 0.098 per cent. It is an outstanding result that goes to show
the commitment that our doctors, nurses, allied health and other frontline
healthcare workers have to making sure that we keep Western Australians safe.
WA has done more to vaccinate its
population than any other state. The commonwealth was originally assigned to do
67 per cent of the overall doses in WA, with the state doing just 33 per cent.
Instead, Western Australia has delivered 50 per cent of the vaccines in Western
Australia to the commonwealth's 50 per cent—proportionately
higher than any other state in Australia. This is an important observation that
the Auditor General made today.
It is extraordinary that with all
this effort going on in the community, there is one group of people that is not
supporting the Roll Up for WA campaign. I have been doing a little bit of maths
today, looking at the Liberal shadow Minister for Health's social media
posts for the year.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members!
Mr R.H. COOK : The member for
Vasse has been busy posting over 600 social media posts in the last 12 months;
there were 320 Twitter posts and 290 Facebook posts. Members, in how many of
those some 600 posts has the member for Vasse encouraged Western Australians to
roll up for WA and get vaccinated? None.
Point of Order
Mr V.A.
CATANIA : I have a point of order.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : The point of order is to be heard in silence, please.
Mr V.A. CATANIA : I do not
see how the member for Vasse's Facebook posts have anything to do with
the question . Under standing order 78, there is no relevance.
The SPEAKER : There is no
point of order. Sit down.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : I am sure that
everyone is interested to know who is supporting the Roll Up for WA campaign. I
will say that the Leader of the Opposition is providing a great example for the
community through some very positive posts—not so much her Liberal
Party colleagues. I did a bit of a review of Liberal Party posts on Facebook to
see how many of those over the last 12 months have encouraged Western Australians
to get vaccinated—three! Such is the effort by the Liberal Party to get
everyone vaccinated. This is the political party —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member
for North West Central, you are running out of warnings and you may just get
the leave pass that you are desiring today if you keep this up, so I hope that
you have not got a question.
Mr R.H. COOK : Madam Speaker,
thank you very much, and I apologise for the interruptions. They are very
sensitive today.
Despite
the efforts from the Leader of the Opposition, we have the Liberal Party. This
is the same party that tried to tear
down Western Australia's borders when we were at our most vulnerable.
It is an absolute disgrace. It puts itself ahead of the Western Australian
community all the way along, trying to find political gain at Western Australia's loss. Have Liberal members suggested that Western Australians roll up to
get vaccinated? No. Have they done anything to support the regional rollout?
Have they called on the federal government to take responsibility for
vaccinating Aboriginal people? The Liberal Party is a disgrace. The shadow
Attorney General is publicly opposing the
mandating scheme. The spokesperson for the Leader of the Liberal Party is
encouraging anti-vaxxer protesters to intimidate and bully members of
Parliament when coming into this place, and the shadow Minister for Health has
not put out one positive social media post encouraging people to roll up for
WA. Thank goodness the Western Australian community are ignoring you
all.
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