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COVID-19 (coronavirus)

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Blaming individuals is not a Covid strategy

Mehreen Faruqi 18 Aug 2021

Statement from Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, following today’s announcement of 633 new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases in NSW:

“Today’s COVID-19 numbers are just devastating.

“But simply telling people to ‘stay home’ is not going to cut it when people aren’t getting the financial support they need to do so. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing, and have been for weeks. Blame-shifting onto individuals is very unhelpful.

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Kids must be part of national vaccine target

Adam Bandt 13 Aug 2021

Kids and teenagers must be included in the government's national vaccine targets, Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said today. Young people deserve protection and without high rates of vaccination of the whole population, we will never get out of rolling lockdowns.

The Prime Minister’s current targets exclude children and most teenagers. The PM’s 80% target is really a 65% target of the whole population.

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Government must waive JobKeeper/JobSeeker debts

The Greens say it is unconscionable for the Government to be chasing income support recipients for JobKeeper debts when billionaires collected millions in Jobkeeper while turning significant profits. 
 
“There is a clear double standard between individuals receiving income support and businesses who claimed Jobkeeper'', Greens spokesperson on Family and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

 “I am certain the vast majority of these so-called debts will be genuine mistakes in a confusing system. 

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Speech: Covid-19 Economic Response Bill

I'm speaking from my home in lockdown, as greater Sydney has entered its sixth week of lockdown. Millions of people are under stay-at-home orders as the virus circulates in our community Tragically, people are dying because vaccinations haven't been provided even to essential workers who have to leave home and are expected to stoically put their health and that of their families at risk. It was heartbreaking to hear today of the death of 27-year-old Aude Alaskar, who collapsed in his Warwick Farm unit.

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Government must include children in vaccine targets: Greens

Adam Bandt 4 Aug 2021

The Greens say the absence of children under 16 in the latest vaccine rollout plans shifts baselines and according to recent studies risks thousands of deaths.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt, pressed the Prime Minister in question time today as to why he is not including children in his vaccination target.

Leaving children out of the measured cohort effectively changes the baseline, and if that means we’re targeting closer to 65% of the population, rather than 80%, a study by the Grattan Institute suggests that would likely mean thousands of deaths.

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Greens call for Government to mandate vaccines for home care workers 

 The Greens say that older Australians are at significant risk without mandatory COVID -19 vaccines for all aged care workers, including those working in home care and disability care.
 
“It’s shocking that workers caring for a very vulnerable population in their homes, moving between many households in a day are not a priority for the vaccine rollout", Greens spokesperson on Ageing Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 

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Income support recipients continue to be an afterthought

The Greens say that the additional $200 for people on income support who have lost 8 hours of work a week is a step in the right direction but once again it isn’t enough.

It’s very simple: to ensure people stay safe, the Government must ensure everyone can afford to stay home during lockdowns. 

Once again, a confusing, delayed and piecemeal process to access support has exacerbated the mental ill-health of people in our community. 

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