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So Morrison and those around him are confident they have a majority of voters behind them on banning travellers. They are probably right. Voters have rewarded state premiers for slamming their borders shut. Morrison used to complain about Labor premiers like Mark McGowan and Annastacia Palaszczuk for doing this. Now he just copies them.
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But the Indian ban is not as popular as it first looked. Labor MPs like Ed Husic warned last week against severe restrictions on Australians coming from India. Then the Indian community responded with fury to the decision last weekend. Then some of the governmentâs own backbenchers caught up and pushed back. Why? Because they could feel the anger in their communities.
That stalwart of Australia’s pandemic response, the National COVID-19 Commission, is no more.
Morrison put the commission out of its misery yesterday, declaring the “crisis management” phase of the pandemic over (even as thousands of Australians remained stranded in virus-ravaged India).
I want to thank the chair of the board, Mr Nev Power, and each of the current and former commissioners for their work. They answered the call for their country when they were needed and have worked hard to support the government’s plans for managing the virus and economic recovery.
The board provided a real-time business perspective on critical aspects of our COVID-19 response. [They] helped businesses safely reopen with COVIDSafe plans, and provided a business perspective to help inform our policies for economic recovery.
Australians Over 50 Eligible for AstraZeneca Vaccine From Today
All Australians over the age of 50 can receive AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccines from Monday at general practice respiratory clinics and state and territory vaccination hubs.
The vaccination will be expanded to GP clinics from May 17 with 15.8 million doses available for this phase of the rollout.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the number of vaccinations in NSW had started to pick up in recent weeks and called on Australians to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“People should understand the world out there at the moment is a dangerous place,” he told Sunrise. “We are still an oasis at the moment but at any time that could change.”